


My Family

by Lady_Zephyrine



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Backstory, Brotherly Love, Dadster, Gen, Headcanon, I've been working my butt off on this thing, No Romance, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Sans and Papyrus start off as kids, Spoilers, Takes place years before Frisk falls down the mountain, The skeletons live in New Home, There are some cameos from other monsters, but will get serious much later, contains some humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-09-05
Packaged: 2018-06-08 15:07:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 52,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6860089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Zephyrine/pseuds/Lady_Zephyrine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Papyrus, his family has always consisted of his father and his brother. And while his family was short, he certainly didn't seem to mind. In fact, he strongly believed that nothing could separate him from his family.</p><p>((May get rewritten in the future, but I'll keep this one up for folks who enjoyed it))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Since I've been working on this on FF.Net, I figured I'd put it up here, too.
> 
> Also, I figured how to change things up a bit on here. Anyways, Papyrus will speak in bold, Sans will speak in italics, and Gaster will speak in underlines (the parentheses means that he's using sign language).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Since their father isn't home, Papyrus and Sans hang out at the park.

School had just ended, it was finally the weekend. The streets of New Home were filled with playful young children, ready to go off on their own adventures.

A young skeleton was walking down the street, he looked down at the grey pavement beneath his feet. He held onto his brother's sleeve with one hand while carrying a stuffed pink rabbit with the other. As an 8 year old, Papyrus had already gotten used to the sights of New Home. Sure, he has been to Hotland quite a few times, but he didn't really like that place all that much. He could visit the king at his castle if he wanted to, but he would just feel like he was intruding since the King was usually busy.

**"Hey, Sans?"**

_"hm?"_ Papyrus' brother looked at him with wide eye sockets.

**"Don't you think that's a bit boring, here?"**

Sans replied with a shrug. _"eh...it could be better."_

**"I suppose you're right,"** Papyrus said, avoiding eye contact. **"Although, I suppose it could be much worse, too."**

Sans nodded without a second thought. _"but hey, just think...you'll be a royal guardsman, I'll be the royal scientist, and we'll be able to go all over the underground. doesn't that sound cool?"_

**"Of course it does! Only someone as cool as The Great Papyrus would become a member of the Royal Guard!"** He looked down at his stuffed Rabbit. **"What do you think, Fluffy Bunny?"**

_"pap, you realize he's just a toy, right?"_

**"I know he's a toy,"** Papyrus argued, **"It doesn't mean he can't talk."**

_"whatever you say, bro..."_

As the brothers walked to their apartment, they saw a note hanging off their door. Sans took the note off the door and began to read it. His pupils rolled in his eye sockets.

**"Dad's not home, is he?"**

_"nope,"_ Sans crumpled the note and threw it over his shoulder. _"it's just the two of us."_

**"Well, what should we do?"** Papyrus asked.

_"i dunno, what do you wanna do?"_

**"Hm..."** Papyrus placed a hand over his jaw. **"Maybe we could go to the park? That's always fun!"**

_"sure!"_ Sans gave Papyrus his sleeve to hold onto. _"lead the way."_

Papyrus nodded as he started to lead his brother out of the apartment building. While their father had been very busy as of late, he and Sans were more then capable of taking care of each other. Besides, they were fine as long as they got back before it was night time.

 

* * *

 

It was late afternoon, there were still some kids playing on the playground. Most of them were older then either Sans or Papyrus, at least that's what the skeletons assumed.

Sans made his way over to the swing set while Papyrus sat down near a tree, petting his stuffed rabbit. He watched as most of the kids played tag. He would join them, but as great as he was, he had to admit...he wasn't the greatest when it came to making friends.

Papyrus lifted Fluffy Bunny up to his eye level, speaking in an unusually quiet tone. **"Well, at least I have you and Sans to hang out with."**

He let go of the stuffed rabbit, it became surrounded in a blue-ish hue as Papyrus started playing with his gravity magic. He hadn't had known how to use magic for very long, but he was always careful with it. Last thing he wanted was to hurt someone by accident.

Sans jumped off the swings, walking over to his brother with a concerned look. _"somethin' wrong?"_

Papyrus looked up at his brother as the stuffed rabbit dropped back into his arms. **"No, why?"**

_"i just thought you looked lonely, that's all."_

**"Well, that's because we're not very popular, yet!"** Papyrus argued, **"Trust me, Sans...once we're popular, we'll be able to make all kinds of friends!"**

_"hm..."_ Sans closed his eyes and started rubbing his jaw with a sleeved hand, which gave Papyrus bad vibes. **"Sans, what are you doing!?"**

Sans continued to hum impatiently, causing Papyrus' bones to rattle. **"I'm serious, Sans...this better not be one of your tricks!"**

Suddenly, Sans began calling out to the other kids. _"HEY, CAN WE PLAY!?"_

**"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"** Papyrus yelled, dropping Fluffy Bunny and placing a hand over his brother's mouth, ****"You're embarrassing me!"****

_"i'm your brother, i'm s'pose to embarrass you!"_

**"SANS!"**

The other monster children watched as the two brothers continued to bicker. The smallest monster, a Whimsun, began to fly meekly at the two. He nervously pressed his fingers together.

"Y-you're Comic Sans, right?"

The skeletons stared at the young insect monster with confusion, Sans nodded. " _yeah, why?"_

"Well..." The Whimsun looked away bashfully, "Um...I'm not sure how to say this, but...aren't you a bit-"

_"frail?"_

"Er..." The Whimsun shook nervously, "Y-yes...I mean, no offense but wereally don't want to hurt you."

_"then why don't you play with my brother?"_

**"Sans, you're not making things any better!"** Papyrus grumbled. Sans lowered his eyelids. _"well? you were the one who wanted to make friends!"_

"Psh...who's be friends with these numbskulls?"

The monster children stood stiffly as a pair of new monsters came into the park. One of them was an Astigmatism, an eye monster with a bow on her horn. The other one was an orange dragon, he appeared to be missing a tooth.

"Let's face it," said the dragon, "One's too loud and the other can't even take a hit!"

The monster children panicked as they started hiding throughout the playground. Papyrus wrapped his arms protectively around Sans, afraid of what these bullies might do to him.

"Oh? Looks like Rattles still hasn't forgotten what we've done to his brother last time we saw them," said the Astigmatism, Sclara. "What are ya gonna do, pick on us?"

"And don't think I haven't forgotten about you knocking my tooth out!" Ricky snarled. As expected, Papyrus began to rattle, he held tighter onto Sans, who struggled to breathe. _"pap, you're gonna break my ribs!"_

"'Ey, Ricky!"

Ricky looked over at Sclara, who was tapping her foot impatiently. "Don't forget, we've got other fun monsters to play with!"

"Don't worry, I'm just gonna mess with these guys for a little bit!"

Papyrus tried to walk away while carrying Sans (despite being the same height). However, he was stopped as Ricky placed a claw on his scarf. "Where do you think you're going?"

"U-um..." Papyrus dropped Sans onto the ground, who landed painfully on his tailbone. **"Do we really need to fight? I mean...I know you CAN be a good person, you just-"**

"Cut the bull crap, already!" Ricky's soul began to glow, as did Papyrus'. Panicking, Papyrus threw Sans over his shoulder and started running.

_"pap, whaddaya doin'!?_

**"Saving our tail bones, that's what!"**

Ricky began to summon fireballs around his head as he started chasing the twin skeletons. Sans started to scream as one of them headed straight for them. Papyrus jumped, making sure it didn't hit them.

Ricky started chasing them out of the park, throwing more and more fireballs at them. As this continued, Sans kept yelling out different directions. _"RIGHT! NO LEFT! NOT YOUR LEFT, MY LEFT!"_

**"Huff...huff..."** Papyrus followed his brother's directions as he avoided getting hit. **"Gees, brother...you're louder then usual..."**

_"well...hopefully this won't DRAG ON for too long!"_

**"SANS, NOW'S NOT THE TIME FOR-"**

_"BWAH!"_ Sans began to kick his legs as a fireball nearly made contact with his skull. _"RUN FASTER!"_

Papyrus tried to pick up speed, but his legs began to feel tired. He could tell that if he had lungs, they would be burning, right now. All hope seemed lost until Papyrus saw another skeleton walking along the streets. He was a tall, lanky skeleton with a long black robe dragging across the floor.

The tall skeleton turned around as he heard Papyrus' foot prints. He looked down at the two children with concern. (What is it, my child?)

Papyrus hid behind the skeleton as Ricky came closer. The dragon skidded to a halt as the skeleton stared at him, his wonky eye sockets glowing a threatening purple color. "G-g..."

"Hello, child," The skeleton spoke as he smiled his usual crooked smile. "My boys have not been causing any trouble, have they?"

"Um..." Ricky began to tremble, backing away slowly. "N-no, Dr. Gaster sir."

"Oh..." Gaster smiled even wider, a pair of dragon skulls appeared beside him. "Then you certainly aren't planning on hurting these poor boys...are you?"

Ricky shook his head, backing away as Gaster started to walk closer. His eyes began to flash between purple and yellow. "Because if you are, then...well, I'm sure that I could use another test subject for my lab experiments!"

Frightened, Ricky began to run far away from Gaster as fast as he possibly could. The tall skeleton started to cough, as he couldn't talk for long periods of time. Papyrus looked up at his father, confused. **"You don't really use monsters as test subjects, do you?"**

(Heavens no!) Gaster replied, (I was just merely scaring him off. And besides, I'm usually my own test subject, I have no need to use anyone else!)

_"that's gonna get you killed, one of these days,"_ Sans warned him. Gaster took Sans out of Papyrus' arms and gently nudged his son's skull. A pair of magic hands appeared besides his head.  (Your mother would tell me the same thing, you know).

_"well it's true!"_   Sans argued.

(Well...as a scientist, sometimes I have to make risks.)

Papyrus started pulling at his father's sleeve, Gaster looked down at the impatient young skeleton. **"C'mon, we gotta go home before it's night time!"**

Gaster nodded, one of the floating hands started petting Papyrus' skull. (Forgive me, my child!)

Gaster started heading back home as Papyrus clinged to his robe. It seemed like both children had an eventful time at the park, they would certainly need some rest.

 

* * *

 

After dinner, it was time to settle down. Sans was sprawled across his bed, ready to fall asleep at any moment. Papyrus walked in, dragging his feet across the floor. He sat on the bed, placing his hand on his jaw.

Upon seeing his brother like this, Sans sat up from the bed. _"what's wrong?"_

**"Ricky ruined everything, again!"** Papyrus said, bitterly. **"Honestly, why can't he leave us alone for once?"**

_"well, maybe next time he will. and who knows? he'll actually let you have friends!""_ Sans said, sympathetically. Papyrus shook his head. **"You know I can't make friends with you embarrassing me all the time."**

_"ok, fine, i won't try to embarrass you, anymore!"_ Sans said, smirking. _"well...no promises, though."_

Papyrus smiled at his brother, **"I appreciate the thought, Sans...but let's be realistic, here. Nobody wants to be friends with someone as loud as me!"**

_"hey...don't forget, you still have me!"_ Sans argued.

**"Well I know that,"** Papyrus said happily. He jumped off the bed and embraced his older twin. **"I could never forget about you, Sans!"**

_"aw, pap..."_ Sans began to smile brightly, patting his brother's back. _"and you can't forget about fluffy bunny. either~!"_

Suddenly, googly eyes formed in Papyrus' eye sockets. He backed away from his brother with a dazed look on his face. **"Sans...?"**

Sans tilted his head. _"yeah, bro?"_

**"...I think I might've left him at the park."**

_"hey, don't worry about it,"_ Sans said, causing Papyrus to glare at him. **"How can I not worry!?" He could be cold and hungry out there, by himself!"** The younger skeleton buried his face in his hands, screaming. **"OH MY GOD, I'M SUCH A TERRIBLE FRIEND!"**

Sans' shoulders dropped as he spoke in a more deadpan tone. _"papyrus, he's a toy!"_

**"But he's still suffering out there!"**

_"look, he's not gonna go anywhere,"_ Sans said, placing an arm over his brother's shoulder. _"we'll look for him tomorrow morning, ok?"_

**"er..."** Papyrus rattled nervously. **"Are you sure he won't go anywhere?"**

_"trust me, he'll be right there waitin' for ya!"_

Papyrus took a deep breath, calming his non-existent nerves. **"All right, Sans...I believe you."**

_"all right, then."_ Sans said as he started heading over to the bookshelf. _"do ya want me to read you a story?"_

**"Hm..."** Papyrus placed a hand over his jaw as he walked over to the bookshelf. He pointed to the book with a green spine on it. **"How about that one?"**

_"this?"_ Sans pulled the book out, there was a small white dog on the cover. Papyrus nodded. **"Yes, that's the one."**

_"hm..."_ Sans headed over to Papyrus' bed and started laying on it. _"it's kinda long, though, so i might not be able to get through all of it."_

**"That's all right,"** Papyrus said happily, **"Just try to get through the first two chapters if you can. We'll read even more tomorrow"**

_"all right, then."_

Papyrus headed up to his bed and curled up next to Sans. Since Gaster couldn't talk for long periods of time without coughing (and since Papyrus wasn't very good at reading small text), it usually fell on Sans to read bedtime stories, himself. Papyrus didn't mind, though. In fact, he enjoyed his brother's company.

_"once upon a time, there was a dog named toby..."_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus goes to the Core, that's it!

Papyrus slowly opened his eye sockets as he sat up from his bed. He looked at the clock sitting on his night stand, it was 7:23 in the morning. He looked over at his brother, who was still passed out on the bed, one of his hands was resting on the book. While Sans did try to fit the role as the elder brother (only being older by 12 minutes), he still tired out easily due to his own frailty. And once he was asleep, it was almost impossible to wake him up.

Papyrus got himself dressed, wearing a striped yellow and orange shirt with a long, red scarf. He headed out of the room and checked where his father's room was, there was nobody there. It was safe to assume that Gaster had already gone to Hotland.

The young skeleton headed into the kitchen and started writing a note, letting his brother know that he had gone to the park. Once he was finished, he placed the note on their bedroom door and left the apartment. The walk over to the park was long, but it was nice. There weren't a lot of kids outside, today. Thankfully, that meant that neither Ricky nor Sclara were around to pick on him. Once Papyrus made it over to the park, he could see Fluffy Bunny waiting for him under the tree.

**"Oh my god!"** Papyrus picked the stuffed rabbit off the ground and hugged it like a parent would to their child. **"I'M SO SORRY, FLUFFY BUNNY! I'LL NEVER LEAVE YOUR SIDE, AGAIN!"**

Overwhelmed with joy, Papyrus couldn't move an inch. He was just so happy to have his friend back that he couldn't focus on anything else...

...besides the Core looming in the distance.

Papyrus looked up at the Core, then back at Fluffy Bunny with narrow eye sockets. **"I dunno, Fluffy Bunny...Dad says that we should never go to the Core under any circumstances!"**

A moment of silence passed, Papyrus stared at the stuffed rabbit as though it were talking to him. **"E-even if I wanted to, I can't just go without Sans...he'd be disappointed if I didn't bring him with me."**

"..."

**"Well you DO have a point, Sans could get himself killed even if he DID come with us."**

"..."

**"Hm...I dunno..."**

Still, he had to admit, Papyrus has never been anywhere other then New Home and Hotland. Snowdin was too far away and Waterfall was said to be dangerous. With that in mind, the only new place he COULD go to was the Core.

The young skeleton let out a defeated sigh, closing his eye sockets momentarily. **"OK, we'll go...but we won't be there for very long, all right?"**

He started carrying Fluffy Bunny off the ground, making his way over to the Core. After all, everything would be just fine as long as Gaster doesn't find out.

 

* * *

 

The Core was a huge thermogenerator that stood proudly between Hotland and New Home, generating electricity for the entire underground. It's creator was none other then Gaster, himself. Because of him, monsters were able to escape the medieval era and use all kinds of technology, such as stoves and televisions.

Papyrus stared at the door in front of him, red lights were blinking around the Core. He clutched onto Fluffy Bunny's paw. **"W-we're not going to be in there for very long, all right?"**

Nervously, Papyrus struggled to move his feet. He knew that children weren't supposed to be in a place like this, it frightened him deep within his marrow. And yet, he wanted to keep going, just to see what was going on in there...

...If only Sans were here to talk some sense into him.

He looked around the next room, there was an elevator standing at the front, as well as two doors sitting besides the elevator.

Curious, Papyrus went through the door to the left. He walked along the empty corridor, finding himself inside a new room. He could see a bridge stretching to another floor. When he looked down, he could see an endless black abyss below the bridge. Surely, falling down there would be a death wish.

The small skeleton felt like he could freeze, he felt a lump form in his non-existent throat as he walked along the bridge, he was careful not to fall. As he walked, he pressed down onto what he assumed was a button. Papyrus gasped as he saw a barrage of blue and orange lasers coming towards him.

The skeleton felt his soul flutter, he covered his arms in an attempt to shield himself. The blue lasers didn't hurt him, but the orange lasers made it feel like Papyrus was getting sliced into smaller bits. Once the lasers were gone, Papyrus lowered his arms. He was surprised to see that he was still in one piece, though that was a given, since he was much more sturdy then his brother. Papyrus looked down at Fluffy Bunny, he didn't seem to have a scratch on him...Though that to be expected, since he was just a toy.

Papyrus grabbed onto Fluffy Bunny's paw and continued moving. The rest of the Core didn't seem entirely bad, save for a few laser traps, but Papyrus was getting used to how the lasers worked. He learned that the blue lasers won't hurt as long as he stood still, just like a blue attack. The orange ones were the complete opposite, he had to move through them if he didn't want to get hurt.

...And while it could've been his imagination, he thought the orange lasers smelled like oranges.

Suddenly, Papyrus picked up on some new sounds, he heard a girl's voice ahead of him. Panicking, he hid behind a trash can, holding Fluffy Bunny close to his chest. Peaking out a bit, he could see his father walking by with a cat monster and a small, yellow dinosaur.

"A-are you sure this will work, Dr. Gaster?" asked the dinosaur, shaking nervously.

"Well, I have heard that time travel WAS possible," replied the cat monster, stroking his hairy chin. "we just need to find a way to utilize it."

Gaster nodded as the two monsters spoke. He caught sight of something white poking out from behind the trash can. He turned his head to look, but they ducked down before Gaster could see what it was.

"Is something wrong, sir?" asked the dinosaur. Gaster shook his head, (It must have been a small white dog.)

Papyrus peaked from the trash can, watching as the trio left the area. He had forgotten that his father had to check on the Core weekly to see if anything was out of place or if something needed to be fixed. He knew he couldn't stay here, he had to get out. He made his way deeper into the Core, trying to find his way back to New Home. He hoped he could make it out before his father had found him.

He stumbled upon another bridge inside a steamy corridor. This bridge seemed rusted, like it could fall down at any moment. Papyrus clutched tightly onto Fluffy Bunny, hesitating to put even a toe on the bridge. He began to walk cautiously. He wondered if this lead to a way out of the Core.

Papyrus froze as he heard a loud, creaking sound coming from the bridge. He tried to head back, but the bridge was already collapsing. He jumped to the other side, holding onto the ledge with one hand while holding Fluffy Bunny's paw with the other. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to let Fluffy Bunny fall in, and he couldn't use gravity magic on himself, he only really had one option.

He started calling for help, holding onto the ledge as much as he could. If he was lucky, his father had to be nearby.

...But there was no answer. He called for help again, but nobody came.

Papyrus looked down, his soul felt like it was doing gymnastics in his chest. All he could see was an empty white void stretching through the abyss.

This was it, Papyrus couldn't hold on for much longer. He started to slip...But before he did, a white, bony hand grabbed onto his arm and pulled him upwards. Next thing he knew, he was in his father's embrace.

"What were you thinking!?" Gaster yelled before he started to cough uncontrollably. Papyrus trembled, he held onto Gaster like life support as he started sobbing. He never felt so happy to see his father in front of him.

"Is everything all right, sir?"

Papyrus looked behind Gaster, noticing the dinosaur and the cat weren't too far behind. A pair of floating hands appeared behind Gaster, signing to them. (Everything is fine!)

Gaster picked Papyrus off the ground, giving him a confused look. (Where is your brother?)

**"He's at home,"** Papyrus replied, his hands were clinging to the folds of Gaster's robe. The elder skeleton tilted his head.  (How odd...you two are always together in some way.)

Gaster looked back at his assistant, then back at his apprentice, (I'll be heading back to New Home for now. I will meet you at the lab, later.)

"Yes, sir," The cat said, grabbing the young dinosaur by her claw. "Let's go, Alphys!"

Alphys gave Gaster an odd look as she left with the cat, unable to say anything to him.

...But she was happy that Gaster was able to save his son.

 

* * *

 

As Gaster made his way home, he stopped by the spider bakery and grabbed three spider donuts along the way. He started eating one donut, gave the other donut to Papyrus, and saved the third donut for Sans to have later.

Papyrus looked at the purple, powdery donut. The icing on top of it formed a web. From what Papyrus was told, spider dust was used for the powder. In fact, a lot of stuff from the spider bakery used spider dust. He wasn't sure why, but it was probably better if he didn't question it.

"Papyrus!"

The young skeleton looked up at his father with a curious expression. Gaster took one last bite of his donut and started signing. (What made you think it was a good idea to go to the Core?)

Papyrus shifted awkwardly as he started rubbing the back of his neck. **"Well...Fluffy Bunny wanted to know what it was like in there. I told him no, but he kept begging me to go in, anyway."**

(Are you sure that YOU didn't want to go in there, yourself?)

Papyrus started to blush, looking down at the gray pavement below him. What was he going to say to his father?

"Papyrus!"

Again, Gaster called out his name. Papyrus looked up, his bones starting to rattle a bit.

(I am not punishing you, I am just asking if it was true).

**"...Kind of?"**

Gaster gave Papyrus a patient smile as he patted the young skeleton's head. (You know you are not supposed to go there in the first place, so why did you go?)

**"Um..."** Papyrus held Fluffy Bunny with his arm as he started twiddling his thumbs. **"B-because we're always stuck here. If we're lucky, we can go to Hotland, but I honestly don't like it, there."** Papyrus continued to speak. **"Those steam vents and conveyor belts are a hassle to get through."**

"Ahahaha..." Gaster started to laugh a bit, placing a hand over his chest as his laugh ended in a few minor coughs. (I see you have a severe case of cabin fever...I should have expected as much from a child.) The elder skeleton started to frown. (Although...I'm certain that most monsters feel that way, as well...including myself).

Papyrus tilted his head. **"What do you mean?"**

(...Long ago, us monsters used to live peacefully with the humans).

**"What's a human?"** Papyrus asked bluntly.

Gaster shuttered as he started rubbing his humerus. Upon seeing this, his son started to panic. **"I-I'm sorry, did I ask about something bad!?"**

Gaster shook his head, reassuring Papyrus that it was OK. (You are just curious, that is all.)

**"Well, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to,"** Papyrus said, grabbing onto Gaster's hand. The elder skeleton smiled, but Papyrus felt that it wasn't very genuine.

(If you must know, humans are terrifying beasts with powerful souls. They were the ones who trapped us down here in the first place!)

**"Oh..."** Papyrus stumbled a bit, trying to keep up with his father. **"So they're the reason why we live down here?"**

(Yes, they are), Gaster replied, (But if we can find two more human souls, then King Asgore will finally be able to free us all!)

**"Hm..."** Papyrus' eyes shut momentarily as he started to think. With a look of concern, Gaster stopped walking and looked down at his son.  "Papyrus?"

**"Um..."** The younger skeleton opened his eyes, looking away in embarrassment.

"Is something wrong?"

**"W-well...I wanna ask you something, but it's kind of stupid."**

Gaster shook his head as he knelt down to Papyrus' level and picked him up off the ground. Once again, hands appeared next to his head. (Whatever it is, I'm sure it isn't stupid).

**"OK, um...I know the humans sealed us down here...but have there ever been any good humans, out there?"**

(Well...) Gaster began to think as he started walking back home. (There was one human who fell down here who was adopted by the king and queen. They were a bit cold, but they got along just fine with the Prince Asriel. In fact, you could argue that they were siblings, themselves).

**"So there are good humans!"** Papyrus said, happily. He started to shrink back when Gaster gave him a stern look.  (It does not matter if they mean well or not, but if another one happens to come here, I ask that neither you nor your brother interact with them. Do I make myself clear?)

Papyrus nodded without question. The rest of the walk went silently as they returned to their apartment building. Once Gaster found his way to his apartment, he opened the door, noticing how quiet it was...although Sans was always quiet, so this wasn't much of a surprise.

"Comic Sans!?"

There was no answer. Gaster tried calling out to Sans, again, but nothing happened. He placed Papyrus down on the couch and headed over to their room, knocking on the door. "Comic Sans!"

_"it's saturday!"_ Sans whined, _"can't i sleep in for a bit longer?"_

**"YOU'VE BEEN SLEEPING THE WHOLE TIME I WAS GONE!?"** Papyrus yelled in anger. It went silent for a few minutes until Sans shuffled out of the room, rubbing his eye sockets with his arm. _"i didn't even know you were gone..."_

**"Unbelievable!"** Papyrus huffed as he crossed his arms. Sans made his way over to the couch and sat next to his brother, Gaster handed him the last spider donut.

(I need to get back to work), Gaster signed. (You two behave while I am gone, all right?)

_"yes, sir,"_ Sans mumbled as he started to yawn. Papyrus nodded obediently, as he had no plans to move from the couch.

(Good, I should see you two by dinner time). Once Gaster finished signing, he closed the door behind himself, leaving his two sons in the apartment.

Sans started taking a bite out of the spider donut, _"so what did you do to get dad to come back here?"_

Papyrus rattled nervously. **"I-I went to the Core."**

_"you did, huh?"_ Sans asked, taking another bite out of the spider donut, _"you know neither of us aren't s'posed to go there, right?"_

**"I know,"** Papyrus grumbled, looking a bit defeated. It was bad enough to hear his father scold him, it was even worse when Sans did it.

_"...so what's it like?"_

**"What!?"** Papyrus looked at his brother with wide eye sockets.

_"you heard me, what was the core like?"_

**"u-um..."** Papyrus had to think of something, anything to impress his brother.

**"Well, the Core was a dangerous place. Fluffy Bunny almost fell into the empty abyss below the Core. But I, The Great Papyrus, heroically swooped in and saved him before he plummeted into the void. Nyehehehehe!"** Papyrus laughed heroically as he puffed out his chest. **"And of course, after I saved him, Dad and his assistants applauded my heroic deeds."**

_"hehe..."_ Sans lowered his eyelids, his pupils disappearing from his eye sockets. He could always tell when his twin was lying. _"none of that really happened, did it?"_

**"OK, OK, I made all that up to sound cooler,"** Papyrus said in embarrassment. **"But if you really wanna know, there's a lot of metal and flashy buttons...and there's booby traps, I can't forget about the booby traps!"**

_"wow, sounds like dad did an impressive job with the core,"_ Sans smiled even wider, _"and it must've been REALLY tough for you, which is why you left me back here!"_

**"O-of course,"** Papyrus said, blushing a bright red color. **"Given all the lasers that were there, I'm sure you would've just turn to dust if I had brought you along."**

Sans let out a sigh. _"well...maybe when i'm dad's apprentice, i'll be able to go there, myself."_

Papyrus wanted to argue with his brother, telling him that the Core was too dangerous of a place to be in, but he thought it was better to not say anything. He started to think of something else to say.

**"Hey, Sans?"**

_"yeah, bro?"_

**"If by chance you DO go to the Core one day, then look out for any broken bridges, all right?"**

_"heh, all right,"_ Sans shrugged as he ate whatever was left of the spider donut. _"i'll be sure to keep an eye socket out for them."_

**"Also, Sans?"**

_"...yeah?"_

Papyrus started to smile widely, **"Do you know what a human is?"**


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans gets into trouble at school.

A few days have passed since then, and Papyrus was already getting himself ready for school. Daily, he had to get dressed, make his bed, wake up Sans and tell him to get dressed and tell him to make his own bed. Afterwards, the two skeletons would have breakfast and head off to school. As nice as some of the teachers and students were, Sans and Papyrus mostly kept to themselves. After all, they were able to take care of each other...right?

It was science class, all of the children had simple worksheets where they had to cut out words and place them near the parts of a flower. Papyrus was doing just fine on his own, labeling the stem, the roots, and the petals. However, he couldn't find where he cut out the world "leaf". He looked down at his hands, which were covered in glue. He grabbed the worksheet and checked underneath it...but unfortunately it was stuck to his hand, now. Little did the skeleton know, the word "leaf" was glued onto his skull.

Papyrus struggled to get the paper out of his hands without ripping it. He looked at Fluffy Bunny with pleading eyes. **"What am I gonna do now?"**

_"why not just wash your hands?"_ Sans asked from the opposite side of the table. His head was resting on his hand while he tapped his fingers against his worksheet, which had already been finished.

Papyrus began to scowl. **"If I do that, then it'll just ruin the paper!"**

_"well it's not like it's a hard worksheet to begin with,"_ Sans argued.

Papyrus continued to struggle with the paper. He tried to pry it from is hands until he heard it rip. The young skeleton sat there, mortified as the whole class began to look at him with the now-ruined paper in his hands.

"Is something wrong, Papyrus?" Asked the teacher, who was a purple slime monster. Papyrus looked around, anxiously. He needed to find a way out, and fast.

**"I-I gotta go to the bathroom!"** Papyrus yelled as he ran out of the classroom. Feeling concerned for his brother, Sans raised his hand. _"can i be excused?"_

"Er..." The teacher wasn't sure how to respond, it was like they had seen a human walk by them. "I-I suppose so."

_"thank you!"_

Sans pushed himself off of his chair and started heading into the hallway. He saw Papyrus was just down the hall, washing the glue off at the drinking fountain. Sans walked closer to him, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. _"you ok, pap?"_

**"Of course not!"** Papyrus snapped as he brushed his brother's hand off, **"Didn't you see how many people were staring at me!?"**

_"hey, it could be worse,_ " Sans replied, _"you could've set the whole school on fire."_

Papyrus looked down, feeling defeated. Sans placed an arm over his brother's back as he tried to give him some reassurance.

_"look, we could talk to the teacher about it later, ok? and besides..."_ Sans pealed the word 'leaf' from his brother's skull, _"i'm sure they weren't expecting you to 'leaf' so soon!"_

**"Oh my god, Sans!"** Papyrus whined as he placed a hand over his face. But as upset as he sounded, Sans could tell that his brother was smiling a bit.

He grabbed onto Papyrus' hand and started heading back to the classroom. _"c'mon, we've gotta get back to class, ok?"_

Papyrus nodded without saying anything, he felt ashamed of himself. But with Sans around, he felt like it wouldn't last for too long.

 

* * *

 

Once class was over, the two skeletons had a talk with the teacher. Fortunately, they understood that Papyrus didn't mean to rip his paper during class. They gave him another worksheet to work on later as a part of his homework.

It was lunch time, and Papyrus was busy working on his worksheet. He hadn't even taken a bite out of his lunch, yet. It was just a Legendary Hero accompanied by a Crab Apple.

_"wow, pap...you've turned yourself around, pretty quickly."_ Sans said happily while finishing his lunch. The younger skeleton began to smile. **"It was just bad luck, earlier. I'm sure I can turn this day around in some way or another~!"**

_"well i'm glad you think that way,"_ Sans replied. He kicked his feet impatiently as he looked down at Papyrus' sandwich. _"by the way, are you gonna eat that?"_

**"Hm?"** Papyrus looked over at the sandwich in front of them. He pushed it over to Sans while he finished his worksheet. **"Here, it's covered in grease, anyway!"**

Sans happily accepted the sandwich and started eating it. He looked around the lunch room with sheer curiosity, everything seemed normal so far. Most of the other monster children talked with one another, getting along just fine with each other. Sans had to admit, he was a bit jealous of them, but there wasn't much that he could do. He knew once he and Papyrus were popular enough, they'd make all kinds of friends...

...Well, at least that's how Papyrus thought it worked

Sans' eye sockets widened when he spotted Ricky walking into the cafeteria. The skeleton panicked as he tugged onto his brother's sleeve. _"pap, we gotta hide!"_

**"But why?"** Papyrus asked before getting dragged under the table. _"just do it!"_

Ricky looked around, his tail twitching with anticipation. He started heading over to a table where the dog monsters were sitting.

**"Do you think he'll leave us alone?"** Papyrus whispered. Sans clung onto Papyrus, as though the younger skeleton was his body guard. _"i dunno...let's just keep quiet and see what happens!"_

The skeletons watched as Ricky pulled out a few fire crackers and threw them at the dogs. Upon hearing the fire crackers, the dogs began to yelp in terror. Ricky laughed, much to their dismay. One of the dogs, or rather a dog skeleton, engaged Ricky in a battle, causing their souls to glow brightly. It was a matter of time before the cafeteria was completely inhabited by embers and bone magic.

Children panicked as they ran out of the cafeteria, some of them were trying to look for any adults that could be nearby. When the coast was clear, Sans quietly guided Papyrus out from under the table, glancing back at Ricky every now and again to make sure he didn't see either of them. He successfully left the cafeteria and made his way out into the hall.

...Or so he thought.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sclara asked as she stepped down on Papyrus' scarf. The younger skeleton pushed his brother away, worried that the Astigmatism would hurt him. **"Sclara, please! I don't wanna cause any trouble!"**

"Aw, that's too bad," Sclara said mockingly as she grabbed Fluffy Bunny and pushed Papyrus to the ground. She started running through the halls, cackling like a maniac.

Papyrus sat up, watching as his brother started to chase down Sclara. **"SANS, WAIT! THAT'S WHAT SHE WANTS!"**

Meanwhile, Sclara continued to run through the halls. She looked back at Sans, waving the stuffed rabbit in the air. "C'mon, Brittles! Just TRY and catch me!"

Sans' hands balled up into little fists, his left eye started to glow an eerie blue color. He chased Sclara down until she found herself cornered. She looked back at Sans, who looked like he was going to attack her at any second. It looked like the Astigmatism was about to cry.

Sans raised a non-existent eyebrow, he tilted his head. _"what are you- ACK!"_

Suddenly, one of the teachers grabbed Sans by his shirt and lifted him off the ground. This teacher was a fish monster who had his other hand (fin?) on his hip.

"Now what's going on here?"

"Oh, it was awful!" Sclara cried, "I s-saw Sans push his brother on the floor and take his t-toy away from him! *sniff* I tried to g-get it back to Papyrus, *sob* but S-sans said he would beat me up if I did."

Sans tried to struggle free from the fish's grip, scowling at the Astigmatism in front of him. _"YOU JUST MADE THAT UP, YOU DIRTY LIAR!"_

Sclara started to wail even louder. "OH SANS, WHY MUST YOU BE SO CRUEL!"

"Well, looks like I'm gonna have to escort you to the principal's office!" said the fish as he started carrying Sans. The small skeleton flailed his arms helplessly. _"B-BUT I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING, YOU KNOW SHE'S MAKING IT UP!"_

Sans looked back at Sclara, who was cackling maniacally. As she mouthed three words, knowing that Sans would be able to get it. "Have fun, Brittles!"

 

* * *

 

An hour or so had passed and Papyrus was sitting outside the principal's office. After Sans had been sent down here, Gaster had to come back from work to talk with the principal. For Papyrus, sitting outside the principal's office was like sitting in the waiting room of a hospital: It was neither fun nor pleasant.

The skeleton's eyes widened as he saw Sclara walking by him, still carrying Fluffy Bunny in her hands.

**"W-what are you doing?"** Papyrus asked in distress. Sclara raised her hand, opening her mouth to reveal her eye. "Relax, I'm not gonna do anything!"

**"Oh..."** Papyrus began to frown, **"Th-then what ARE you gonna do?"**

Sclara handed Fluffy Bunny back to Papyrus. "Here! It's useless, anyways!"

Papyrus took the rabbit back from Sclara. To his surprise, Fluffy Bunny didn't seem to have any rips or tears like he expected. Suddenly, realization hit Papyrus like a brick. **"Wait, if you can be nice, then why do you still bully people!?"**

"I'm an Astigmatism," Sclara said with a shrug, "It's in our nature!"

Papyrus held tightly onto Fluffy Bunny as Sclara left. If only she were a bit nicer, then maybe they could've been friends. That and he was too scared of both her and Ricky to be anywhere near them.

The skeleton raised his head as he heard the door open. He watched as Gaster walked out the door. Sans was next to him, clinging tightly onto his robe.

**"So how'd it go?"** Papyrus asked.

(The principal said that he would try to straighten things out), Gaster replied. (In the meantime, I think it's best if I just take you two home for the day.)

**"Are you sure?"** Papyrus asked. Gaster nodded as he felt Sans tighten his grip.  (I am absolutely sure. Besides, your brother thinks it might be for the best.)

Gaster took Papyrus' hand and began to leave the school. He could tell neither of his boys seemed very happy. Not that he could blame them, he used to deal with all kinds of bullies when he was a child. And had it not been for the young queen, he certainly would've gotten killed by said bullies.

Gaster began to think of certain topics, something that could interest both of his boys. They were like polar opposites, which was something to expect from a pair of twins, but something had to gain their attention somehow. Suddenly, an idea popped into Gaster's skull. (Have you two ever heard of stars?)

Papyrus shook his head. **"No, Not re-"**

_"ooh! i know!"_ Sans yelled excitedly as he waved his hand. _"they're those little white dots that humans have on the surface, right!?"_

(Oh...they're much more then that, my child), Gaster signed before he petting Sans' skull. (And while we may not have stars, ourselves, I know of a place that can act as a substitution).

**"Well? Where is this place!?"** Papyrus asked, impatiently. Gaster chuckled softly. He began to speak quietly.  "You will see soon enough, my child...I will meet you tomorrow once school has ended!"

Sans and Papyrus gave each other worried glances, worried of what their father might be thinking.

After all...as much as they loved their father, he was still somewhat of a mad scientist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeesh! Bullies are never fun!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster takes Sans and Papyrus to a new place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long to put up. I was busy trying to prepare for college.
> 
> Anyway, here's the next chapter.

As school ended, Papyrus began to pack up and wait outside the school with his brother. As minutes passed, Sans continued to stand around, patiently. Papyrus , however,started to pace around his twin. It was starting to get on Sans' nerves.

_"pap, could you sit down for, like, one minute?"_

**"How am I supposed to sit down when dad's taking forever to get here?"**

_"don't worry about it,"_ Sans said as he placed a hand on Papyrus' shoulder. _"i'm sure dad'll be here very soon."_

**"God I hope so!"** Papyrus plopped onto the ground, crossing his arms in annoyance. Sans patted his brother on the head and gave him a tired look. _"don't worry, i'm sure he'll show up, really soon!"_

...

...

A half an hour had passed, Sans had watched as the school had gone empty. Like Papyrus, he had an annoyed expression on his face. He looked down at his brother in disappointment. _"c'mon, pap, let's go home."_

**"FINALLY!"** Papyrus said as he flailed his arms. Just as the brothers were about to give up and head home, their father had come into view, wheezing as he wiped the sweat off his skull.

(Forgive me, children...I did not mean to be so late!)

**"That's OK,"** Papyrus said, though there was a bit of edge in his voice. **"Though had you been gone for much longer, we would've left you here all by yourself."**

_"so where are we goin'?"_ Sans asked, holding his hands behind his back.

Gaster smiled as he walked closer to his sons. (Waterfall, of course!)

**"R-really?"** Papyrus excitedly placed his hands over his cheekbones, his eyes began to light up. Gaster nodded, patting his sons on their head.  (Of course! It can be a bit dangerous, but you'll be fine just so long as you stay by my side.)

Papyrus grabbed Gaster's arm as he jumped excitedly, like a dog begging for a walk. **"Then let's go, I wanna see what it looks like!"**

(Patience, my child!) Gaster told Papyrus as magic hands appeared beside his head. (We will get there, soon enough!)

He grabbed onto Sans' hand and started walking down the street. Papyrus looked over at Sans with a curious gaze. He began to whisper. **"What do you think's gonna be in Waterfall?"**

_"i dunno,"_ Sans replied, _"i'm guessing there's little white dots over there, just like what the humans have on the surface."_

 

* * *

 

The walk through Hotland wasn't very pleasant. Skeletons couldn't detect temperature too well, so the heat didn't seem to bother anyone. However, what Papyrus REALLY didn't like about Hotland was its reliance on conveyor belts and steam vents in order to get from place to place. It was one of those reasons why he was thankful he didn't live in here. The only things that didn't bother him were the elevators, though Sans didn't seem to fond of them...mainly because he would get nauseous.

As they reached the end of Hotland, the three skeletons made their way to a river. At the river stood yet another skeleton. They wore a long black cloak, standing next to a boat with a dog's face at the front.

**"Wowie..."** Papyrus said as he ran up to the skeleton with a fixed gaze. **"I didn't know there were skeletons outside of New Home!"**

"Papyrus!"

The young skeleton jumped upon hearing his name called. He looked over at Gaster, who looked a bit peeved. "Stay with me!"

"But he is not harming anyone," the hooded skeleton replied, placing a hand on Papyrus' skull. "Is he your child?"

(Indeed he is,) Gaster told them. Sans looked up at the cloaked monster as he tightened his grip on his father's hand. _"who is this person?"_

(Their name is Mono,) Gaster replied, (They'll able to take us to Waterfall much quicker).

Mono nodded, looking down at the two children. "I love to ride in my boat. Would you care to join me?"

Gaster quietly lead his children onto the boat, sitting down in the back as Mono stood in the front. Suddenly, the boat started to float. It was running across the water like a dog fetching a stick.

Sans looked off to the side. He wasn't quite sure, but he was certain that there were fish in there. He reached out of the boat in an attempt to grab one.

"Careful," Mono turned their head to look at the young skeleton, "we wouldn't want you to fall out!"

Sans shrunk back in fear, curling up against his father. Gaster noticed his son was rattling. He gently rubbed his arm in an attempt to calm him down.

Meanwhile, Papyrus was kicking his legs back and forth, looking up at the ceiling. Occasionally, water droplets would fall from the pointed rocks above them. What were they called? Stalactites? Stalagmites?

Eh...it probably wasn't important.

"Tra la la~!" Mono began to sing, gaining Papyrus' attention. "The more you distance yourself, the easier it is to hurt others."

Papyrus frowned as he tilted his head. **"Are...you talking about LOVE?"**

"I could be," Mono replied, "Or it could just be nonsense, it doesn't matter either way."

As the skeletons got closer to Waterfall, Papyrus began to notice something glowing in the walls. A little while later, they were suddenly surrounded by glowing stones. Papyrus' jaw dropped, he had never seen anything like this, before.

The boat finally stopped at the dock. Gaster nudged Sans a bit, the young skeleton was half-asleep, rubbing his eye sockets until he noticed the sparkling stones above them. He was awestruck, unable to look away from the stones.

Gaster, Papyrus. and Sans all stepped out of the boat. They bid farewell to Mono and began to explore this new region. The twin skeletons stumbled upon a group of blue flowers towering over them. They were Echo Flowers, if they could remember correctly.

**"Hello!"** Papyrus yelled, only for the flower to yell back at him. "Hello!"

**"I am the greatest!"**

"I am the greatest!"

**"No, I am!"**

"No, I am!"

Gaster watched in amusement as Papyrus played with the Echo Flowers. He watched Sans walk up to one, the young skeleton started to yell. _"I'M THE LEGENDARY FART MASTER!"_

"...I'M THE LEGENDARY FART MASTER!"

Upon hearing the flower yell back, Sans began to laugh. Papyrus gave him a dirty look, though he honestly didn't expect his brother to say anything classy.

"Come along, children!" Gaster called out, leading his sons deeper into Waterfall. The skeletons looked around cautiously as they kept going. They came into a room where the water glowed as brightly as the stones on the wall. The ground below them was a dark blue, almost black color. It had small patches of grass growing out of the ground.

Eventually, the trio made their way to the Wishing Room. Not only were there glowing rocks on the ceiling, there were rocks on the walls, as well.

(Long ago, us monsters would wish upon the stars at night,) Gaster signed, looking somewhat melancholy. (However...Once we were sealed down here, the closest thing he had to the stars are these rocks that hang along the ceilings in Waterfall.)

**"Um...Why DID the humans seal us down here, anyway?"** Papyrus asked out of curiosity.

_"yeah, i wanna know!"_ Sans added. Gaster let out a deep breath, knowing that his sons would keep asking if he didn't say anything.  (It is because the humans feared our ability to absorb their souls, even though most monsters wouldn't have the decency to do so!)

Papyrus tilted his head in confusion. **"But didn't you say that humans were stronger then us?"**

(Indeed they are). Gaster replied. (It would take nearly every single monster soul down here to equal to that of a single human soul. THAT is how strong they are!)

_"really...?"_ Sans pulled his soul out of his chest, it floated weakly over his hands. _"is that why king asgore wants to collect human souls?"_

Gaster nodded in response. (And if he can grab two more, we'll finally be able to live back on the surface).

The elder skeleton pulled out a pocket watch, tapping his feet on the floor. (It's nearly 10:00. If you have any wishes, then do so now before we head back to New Home).

Sans placed his soul back into his chest and started looking up at the glowing stones. Papyrus followed closely behind, his hands hiding behind his back. **"So what do you wish for?"**

_"if i told you, then my wish won't come true!"_ Sans replied, blushing in embarrassment.

**"Well...if you tell me your wish, then I'll tell you mine!"**

Sans scoffed. _"it's probably got somethin' to do with the royal guard!"_

Papyrus shook his head. **"Not really...I mean, yes...I would love to join them more then anything. But there's something else on my mind, right now."**

_"like what?"_ Sans asked. Papyrus grabbed onto his brother's hands, smiling. **"I want us all to stay together, forever. Just you, me, and dad!"**

_"hehe..."_ Sans' grin grew wider as he squeezed Papyrus' hands. _"that's funny...'cause that's my wish, too!"_

**"It is!?"** Papyrus asked, shocked.

_"'course it is!"_ Sans said happily. _"i mean...just imagine: once we reach the surface, we could all look at the stars together. we could all lay around on the grass while dad tells us about the con...con-stull-ay-shuns?"_

**"Sans, that's genius!"** Papyrus yelled as he happily hugged Sans, lifting him a few inches off the ground. Sans held tightly onto Papyrus' arms as his feet dangled. Nonetheless, he gently nudged Papyrus' skull with his own skull in return.

"Papyrus! Comic Sans!"

The two skeletons looked up at their father, who was gesturing for them to follow him. Papyrus placed his brother back down and the duo began to follow Gaster, making their way back to New Home. Papyrus smiled, hoping that his wish would one day come true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here ya go, some brotherly fluff~!
> 
> But I'm not done, yet. I have chapter 5 prewritten, so hopefully I should be able to put up, soon (both on here and FF.net)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the day before their birthday, and Sans and Papyrus decide to make the best of it. Fortunately, a certain monster was walking by to make things interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Er...Excuse the time skip, but enjoy the brotherly fluff!
> 
> Also, this is a long chapter (which is over 3,000 words), so just letting you know right now.

 

Years had passed since then, and Papyrus was now 12...at least for one more day. He sat up as he began to stretch. Over the years, he had grown tall and lanky. In fact, he was even taller than his father at this point.

Papyrus felt a slight pain in his joints, which he figured could've been from growing pains. The skeleton looked at the clock, his eyes popping out upon realizing that it was 9: 36.

**"OH MY GOD!"** Papyrus' voice nearly cracked as he ran into his closet to look for his clothes. **"SANS, GET UP! WE'VE SLEPT IN!"**

_"it's saturday, papyrus!"_ Sans mumbled as he curled up even more, nuzzling into his pillow. The older skeleton had little time to react when Papyrus ripped the blanket off him. **"SANS, DON'T TELL ME YOU FORGOT!"**

_"forgot what?"_ Sans grumbled, refusing to move.

**"It's the last day that we ever get to be kids!"** Papyrus replied. He clasped his hands together, giggling from excitement. **"Just think: after today, we no longer have to wear stripes! We could just stay up all night doing puzzles, playing games, watching adult movies-"**

_"er...i dunno about the last one,"_ Sans replied as he finally climbed out of bed. Compared to Papyrus, Sans still resembled a small child, standing up to his brother's shoulders. This made him the shortest one in the family, though he mostly blamed his own frailty for it.

Papyrus grabbed his striped red and green shirt and put it on. It was his last day of being a kid, so he had to make the most of it. Once he was dressed, he ran into the living room. **"Don't take too long, brother!"**

_"i won't,"_ Sans mumbled. He looked around in the closet and pulled out a purple shirt with blue stripes. Once he was dressed, he met his brother on the couch. _"so what are we doin', today?"_

**"Maybe we could go visit the library?"** Papyrus asked. Sans shook his head. _"nah, too boring!"_

Papyrus crossed his arms, huffing in annoyance. **"You always say that about the library!"**

Sans shrugged in response. _"well? if i REALLY wanted to make the most of today, i'd rather just prank some helpless monster out there."_

**"And by prank, you mean to shove a whoopee cushion under your glove and let people shake you hand."**

_"c'mon, pap. you used to love that prank!"_

**"Yeah, well...to me, it just seems childish!"** Papyrus argued. Sans lowered his eye sockets, smirking. _"says the guy who asks me to read him a story every night!"_

**"That's different!"** Papyrus yelled in embarrassment. **"You know I can't read very well!"**

_"heh...sorry."_ Sans got up from the couch and offered to give papyrus his hand. _"how 'bout we just get some nice cream for now? we'll see what we can do later."_

**"Hm..."** Papyrus sat up and grabbed his brother's hand. **"That sounds nice actually."**

_"then let's go!"_ Sans said enthusiastically.

 

* * *

 

Once the brothers left the apartment building, they made their way to the closest Nice Cream shop they could find. They sat on the bench, watching as other monsters quietly walked passed them. They didn't seem to have a lot planned for this day. But they were going to make the most of it, somehow!

**"OK..."** Papyrus said as he placed a hand on his jaw and narrowed his eyes, **"I spy something that's...grey!"**

Sans pointed to one of the apartment buildings. _"is it that building there?"_

**"Yes it is,"** Papyrus said as he took another bite of his ice cream. His brother cleared his throat. _"i spy something that's-"_

**"Ooh! Is it the building?"**

_"yep!"_

**"OK, my turn!"** Papyrus said happily. **"I spy-"**

_"it's the building!"_

**"Nyeh..."** Papyrus started to frown, **"I was thinking about the ground, actually."**

_"well...it doesn't help that almost everything in new home is-"_ Suddenly, something caught Sans' attention. He stood up from the bench, looking over at a monster in the distance. _"i spy somethin' yellow!"_

**"WHAT!?"** Papyrus yelled as he turned his head. In the distance, they could see a goat-like monster carrying a vase full of Golden Flowers. This goat had a long purple cape. And while his fur was white, he had a long, blond mane. His long horns stood proudly on his head.

**"Isn't that King Asgore?"** Papyrus asked, curiously. Sans looked over at him with wide eyes. _"huh...whaddaya think he's doin' with that thing?"_

**"Maybe he's just taking it to his garden?"**

_"welp, we may as well look for ourselves,"_ Sans said as he jumped off the bench and ran towards the Monster King. Panicking, Papyrus began to give chase to his brother. He turned his soul blue, keeping him from running any further. Sans struggled to move, but the gravity magic on his soul prevented him from doing so. _"hey, what's the big idea?"_

**"Huff...huff..."** Papyrus finally caught up to Sans. Despite being a skeleton, Papyrus was almost out of breath. He placed a hand over his chest as he tried to regain his breath. **"Y-you should know better th-then to bother the king!"**

_"i was just gonna talk to him!"_

**"No, you were just gonna embarrass me in front of him!"**

Sans rolled his eyes. _"here we go!"_

Meanwhile, as the brothers were arguing, Asgore was standing there with the flowerpot in his paws. He started walking over to the twin skeletons while keeping a calm expression. "Excuse me."

The brothers suddenly stopped bickering to look at the king. Papyrus had a shocked expression on his face.

"Would you two happen to be Wingdings' children?"

**"Indeed we are,"** Papyrus replied. **"I'm Papyrus and this,"** He placed a hand on his brother's skull, **"is my brother, Sans."**

"Oh, like Tempus Sans?"

_"comic sans,"_ the shorter skeleton said bitterly.

"Oh, right...sorry. " Asgore said as he looked down in embarrassment. "Anyway...I shouldn't bother you any longer." Asgore said as he turned to leave, "I'm sure you would rather spend time with your friends.

The skeleton brothers gave each other a sad glance. **"We would, but-**

_"we...don't really have friends."_

"Oh, you don't?" Asgore asked, shocked.

_"it doesn't help that people think i'm as fragile as glass,"_ Sans replied.

**"Not to mention that everyone thinks I'm too loud to be near them."**

_"hey...they can't help that they find your voice BOOMING!"_

**"Don't start!"**

Asgore began to smile as he clasped his hands together. "If you would like, maybe I could be your friend for the day. I'm sure I know how to be 'hip' with the kids."

The skeletons cringed upon hearing Asgore say the word "hip", making the goat monster worry. "Did I say something wrong?"

**"No! No!"** Papyrus said as he shook his head. **"We're willing to hang out with you, but please-"**

_"never talk like that again!"_

"Very well, then." Asgore said as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "Please, follow me."

As Asgore started to walk, Papyrus grabbed onto Sans' hand and started follow him. They thought it wouldn't hurt to spend time with Asgore, at least until their father got home from work. Besides, everybody loved the king.

 

* * *

 

Asgore's castle rested in the very end of New Home, as it was the closest building to the barrier. However, while the castle was great in size, the main area resembled a small, cozy house. Just like the rest of New Home, the main area was grey. However, the house seemed to have a golden flower set in each room.

Asgore was on the phone with Gaster, waiting for the scientist to pick up. He kept an eye on Sans and Papyrus, who were sitting at the table in the living room. Suddenly, he heard a female's voice filling in for Gaster. Asgore assumed it was one of his assistants.

"H-hello...?"

"Howdy. Is Dr. Gaster there?"

"Y-yes," replied the voice, "he's telling me to say 'hello' to you."

"Well, I just wanted to inform him that his sons are staying here at the castle. They said that they would like to stay here until he got home from work."

The assistant repeated what Asgore had told her. The goat monster could hear Gaster laughing from the other end before he began to cough. It sounded as though he had a hairball lodged in his non-existent throat.

"A-are you ok, sir!?"

As the coughing subsided, it had gone eerily silent. Nearly a minute had gone past until Asgore heard the assistant speak, again. "Dr. Gaster says that he'll come over, soon. H-he also says to take care of his sons while they're there."

Asgore nodded, though he knew the assistant couldn't see him. "I will, thank you for your time."

"Good-bye."

As Asgore hung up, he placed the cell phone back into his pocket and walked over to the table. He sat in one of the chairs, next to Papyrus. He could see both skeletons were doodling on a few sheets of paper.

"I'm sorry that I don't have anything interesting for boys your age, but I hope you two are doing all right."

**"We're doing just fine, actually!"** Papyrus replied as he lifted up his paper. **"Look! I even designed some special armor for when I join the Royal Guard. I call it my Battle Body!"**

On the paper was a crudely-drawn picture of Papyrus. He was wearing some strange armor. Papyrus had also given himself huge muscles, despite just being a skeleton.

_"that looks so cool,"_ Sans said in admiration. Papyrus placed a hand on his chest as he began to brag. **"Of course it's cool. I AM The Great Papyrus, after all."** Papyrus looked down at Sans. **"What did you draw?"**

Sans handed the paper over to Papyrus. _"here. it's not very good, though."_

Papyrus looked over the drawing. It looked like a simple picture of a dog. For some reason, the dog had a flower on its head.

**"I don't know what you're talking about,"** Papyrus said as he placed the picture down. **"It looks just fine to me!"**

_"heh..."_ Sans started to blush in embarrassment. _"thanks, bro."_

Asgore couldn't help but smile at the two brothers, seeing how well they were getting along. In fact, seeing them get along so well almost brought a tear to the Monster King's eye.

Papyrus looked over at Asgore, he began to frown. **"Is something wrong, your majesty?"**

"Hm?" Asgore looked up, noticing that the skeleton brothers were giving him concerned looks. "Why do you ask?"

_"you looked like you were gonna cry,"_ Sans said. _"did we do something wrong?"_

Asgore shook his head. "No, it's just that I haven't seen two siblings get along like this since Asriel and Chara. And while they were not related by blood, they both had a strong sibling bond." Asgore let out a deep sigh. "I'm sure you two would've gotten along with them. But sadly...they're no longer with us."

**"Oh..."** Papyrus looked down at the table while Sans looked away from Asgore. The shorter skeleton rubbed the back of his skull. _"i'm sorry to hear that."_

"Ah, forgive me!" Asgore said as he looked up. "I did not mean to upset you!"

**"No, it's fine!"** Papyrus assured him, **"you were just reminiscing, that's all!"**

_"yeah,"_ Sans added, _"so don't worry about it, ok?"_

Asgore looked over at the clock, the time said it was almost noon. He looked back at the two skeletons, smiling. "How about I make you two some lunch? Would that be OK?"

_"sure, knock yourself out!"_

**"As long as there's no grease on it, then it's fine!"**

"Splendid," Asgore said, smiling. "But while I make lunch, you two are free to explore the castle if you wish!"

**"That sounds nice,"** Papyrus replied, **"Thank you."**

Once Asgore walked into the kitchen, the skeletons looked at each other with a curious gaze.

**"What do you think, brother? Should we look around?"**

_"sure, i don't see why not."_

Papyrus sat up from his chair and started walking into the hallway with Sans following close behind him. They walked into the first room. There, they could see two twin-sized beds standing on each side of the room. The room was also filled with dusty toys, old drawings, and a photo frame sitting on top of an old bookshelf.

Sans walked in cautiously, almost as though he were expecting a surprise attack. _"gees, this place feels like a museum!"_

**"Hm..."** Papyrus walked over to the bookshelf and grabbed the picture frame. In the picture, he saw Asgore smiling with three other people. Two of them appeared to be the same species as Asgore while the other appeared to be a different creature, one that Papyrus has never seen before. The taller skeleton began to tap Sans' should. **"Sans, look! There's three Asgores in this picture!"**

Sans cocked his head to the side. _"whaddaya mean?"_

**"Look at this!"** Papyrus yelled as he handed Sans the photo. **"There's a lady Asgore and a little Asgore!"**

Sans examined the picture closely, he began to talk in a more serious tone. _"pap...i'm pretty sure the smaller one's s'posed to be Asriel!"_

**"Oh..."** Papyrus began to blush. **"Th-then who's the lady supposed to be?"**

_"i think she might be asgore's ex-wife,"_ Sans guessed, _"i can't remember her name, though."_

**"Wowie...I wonder what happened to her."**

Sans began to frown. _"i'm hoping she didn't 'fall down' after they lost their kids. otherwise, i don't think asgore would've handled it very well."_

**"Can Boss Monsters even 'fall down'?"**

_"mm...probably not,"_ Sans replied, _"not that i know of, anyway."_

**"Well, maybe we should just keep looking around,"** Papyrus said as he left the room. **"Let's go, Sans!"**

Once again, Sans followed closely behind Papyrus. The skeletons tried to get into the second room in the hallway, but it was locked. A sign stood in front of the door saying "Room Under renovations."

Sans looked up at his brother with a curious gaze. _"what now?"_

**"Uh...Maybe we could take a look at the third room?"**

Sans nodded without question as the skeletons made their way to the third room. They assumed that this room was Asgore's room, since he had a king-sized bed sitting in the corner. The room looked rather clean, but it seemed to intimidate them too much to actually look around.

Papyrus looked down at his brother with a look of concern. **"Do you think we should go back to the living room?"**

Sans shook his head. _"nah, there's gotta be more stuff lying around here."_

**"But if we go too far into the castle, King Asgore will worry about us!"**

_"i'm sure it's fine. besides, it's his castle. he should know where all the rooms are."_

**"Huh..."** Papyrus scratched where his ear would be, **"If that's the case, then I suppose it's OK."**

Sans swiftly grabbed onto Papyrus' hand. **"then let's go!"**

Sans started to lead Papyrus into the lobby and down the stairs. As they continued to walk, Papyrus looked over to his left. He could see all of New Home from where they were. He could also see a red glow in the distance, which he assumed was Hotland. He had to admit, the red glow behind New Home actually looked cool.

As Sans walked into the next room, he felt a shiver crawl down his spine. He released Papyrus' hand in the process.

**"Is something wrong?"** Papyrus asked with concern Sans shook his head. _"nah, it's just a chill."_

Papyrus walked slowly into the next room. Unlike the rest of New Home, this room was bathed in a bright, golden hue. The light from the outside shined brightly through the window, which almost blinded Papyrus.

**"What is this place!?"**

_"i think it's the judgement hall,"_ Sans replied. _"i heard that each year asgore picks a random monster to judge anyone if their worthy of going into the throne room, just so long as their LOVE is lower then 20, though i think it applies to humans, too."_

**"Yikes,"** Papyrus' bones began to rattle. **"Has such a monster ever existed where their LOVE is higher then 20!?"**

_"i hope not,"_ Sans replied, _"and i hope it stays that way!"_

Not wanting to dwell on the subject, the skeleton brothers walked through the judgement hall, into the next room. Of course, this room was grey just like everything else in New Home. However, they noticed a sign hanging besides the next room. It simply said "throne room." When the skeletons peaked inside, they couldn't help but feel their jaws drop. Inside the throne room, there had to be hundreds...No, THOUSANDS of golden flowers growing all over the floor. There were vines sitting alone the walls, which like the Judgement hall, bathed everything in a bright, golden hue. Sunlight from the surface appeared to be shining above the room, which was something the skeletons hadn't seen before.

Papyrus walked carefully to the throne, making absolutely sure that he didn't step on any flowers. He sat down on the throne, sitting proudly. It looked as though he were a young prince waiting to become a king. Although in reality, he wouldn't really ask for something like that.

Sans started walking over to Papyrus, trying not to step on the flowers. However, as he stepped over to the thrown, he managed to trip and fall on his face. Papyrus gasped in horror. **"Sans, are you OK!?"**

_"i'm fine,"_ Sans said as he sat up. He came up to the throne and sat down on Papyrus' lap.  Papyrus examined his brother. Although he managed to give himself a small crack on his forehead, it wasn't very noticeable. Papyrus' hand started to turn green as he placed it over Sans' skull, healing it almost instantly.

_"i gotta say, asgore's got a pretty nice place."_

**"He certainly does,"** Papyrus said happily. **"If I were Asgore, I would probably just sit here and look at these flowers all day."**

_"hehe...i wouldn't blame him, either."_

Sans looked at the back of the room, he noticed that there was another throne covered by a white sheet.

_"i kinda wished i knew what happened to the queen, though."_

**"I do too,"** Papyrus replied, **"But perhaps she might just be on vacation?"**

_"i dunno, she could be."_

**"Well...either way, we could probably ask King Asgore about it, later."**

A few more minutes had gone past until Sans curled up against his brother and fell asleep. Papyrus started to run his fingers over brother's skull as he continued to look down at the golden flowers. While he thought that Asgore wouldn't approve of them sitting in his throne, he still seemed to like the golden hue of the room. After all, they made him feel safe and sound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know, Papyrus...I wouldn't feel very safe around Golden Flowers...
> 
> ...But hey, that's just me!


	6. Chapter 6

While the skeletons were busy exploring the castle, Asgore had been in the kitchen making a rigatoni Pie. He was aware that Gaster's family loved tomatoes, so he made certain to put in extra tomato sauce in the pie.

Despite having a stove, Asgore preferred to cook using fire magic. He found that the food always tasted better that way, though he hoped that Sans and Papyrus thought the same thing. Once the pie was done, Asgore placed it on the counter. He stared calling out to the them like they were his own children. "Sans! Papyrus! Lunch is ready!"

There didn't seem to be answer. He started calling out to them, again. "Sans! Papyrus!"

Again, there was no answer. Asgore left the pie in the kitchen to cool off as he searched for the two skeletons. They didn't seem to be in his room, nor were they in Asriel's room. The goat monster hoped that they didn't just abandon him and headed home.

He began to head downstairs, walking through the Judgement Hall and into the throne room. Once he reached the throne room, he could see that Papyrus was sitting on his throne.

**"Y-your majesty!"** Papyrus struggled to get out of the throne, but he didn't want Sans to fall on the floor, again. **"I-I'm sorry, I'll get out of here as soon as-"**

"No need to worry, Papyrus," Asgore said as he started patting Papyrus' skull. "I'm sure that you two were just curious."

**"We were, actually,"** Papyrus replied, **"Sans was the one who asked us to come down here."**

"Well, I'm happy to inform you that lunch is ready," Asgore said smiling, "You can come back up whenever your ready."

**"Yes, your majesty."** Papyrus replied. Once Asgore left the room, Papyrus started to shake his brother. **"Sans! Wake up!"**

Sans mumbled something indistinguishable before he wrapped his arms around Papyrus' neck, snoring quietly. Papyrus grumbled as he tried shaking his brother. No matter how many times he tried, Sans wouldn't wake up.

**"FINE!"** Papyrus started to carry Sans out of the room, supporting his femurs with his arm. **"Let's go, Lazybones!"**

 

* * *

 

After lunch, Sans and Papyrus were sitting back at the table. They were talking among themselves while Asgore was searching for something. They weren't sure WHAT is was that he was looking for, but it was something. Once Asgore found it (it was a stack of cards), he sat back down at the table and placed them on the table. "So, would anybody like to play a game?"

**"Oh, sure,"** Papyrus said, **"What game did you have in mind?"**

"Go Fish."

**"That sounds fun,"** Papyrus said as he looked down at his brother. **"Don't you agree, Sans?"**

_"um...sure."_

"Oh? Is something wrong, Sans?" Asgore asked in concern. Sans shook his head. _"nah, nothing's wrong...but can i ask you something?"_

"Of course!" Asgore said, "What would you like to ask me?"

_"um...so you had a wife, right? what ever happened to her? did she fall down?"_

"Oh..." Asgore shook his head. "No, she didn't fall down. She just left me, that's all."

_"all right, i was just curious. that's all,"_ Sans replied.

"Also, a boss monster cannot fall down unless their children have fully grown." Asgore started to shuffle the deck of cards before handing some of them out, a hint of sadness was in his voice. "And...since we no longer have children, we cannot die from falling due to age."

Sans rubbed the back of his skull, _"right, well...thanks for clearin' that up."_

Asgore finished dealing the cards, picking up his own small deck in his large hands. "All right, now who gets to go first?"

Papyrus frowned. The thought of just simply falling down terrified him. And once a monster falls down, there was no way to save them from turning to dust. And while skeletons did have a long life span, they weren't immortal like the boss monsters.

_"hey, pap!"_

**"hm?"** Papyrus looked down at his brother.

_"do you got any fives?"_

**"Um..."** Papyrus looked at the cards in his hands. He had shook his head. **"No, go fish!"**

Papyrus took a deep breath, now wasn't a good time to think of fallen monsters. Besides, he should be happy to play cards with Sans, as well as the king of all people.

 

* * *

 

Several hours have passed, Asgore had started to clean up as his guests fell asleep on the chair. It was always nice to have children over (Monster children, anyway). And while Sans and Papyrus wouldn't remain children for much longer, Asgore still enjoyed their company nonetheless.

As the monster king began to sweep outside, he caught the sight of a familiar skeleton in a white lab coat. "Good evening, Dr. Gaster!"

Gaster waved hello as he walked closer to the goat monster. (Have you been able to handle my boys? They didn't do anything dangerous, have they?)

Asgore shook his head. "No! No! They may have gotten a little mischievous, but they never did anything dangerous."

Gaster sighed in relief, placing a hand on his chest. (That's a relief. Usually they just go to the park and get attacked by that dragon.)

"Well, then it was a good thing that they spotted me," Asgore said happily. "Besides, I can tell that your boys will become fine young men."

Gaster nodded without hesitation. (I'm sure they will, thank you.)

The elder skeleton walked into the castle, making his way over to the living room. He walked over to the chair and started shaking Papyrus' arm gently. "Papyrus!"

**"Hm...?"** Papyrus barely opened his eyes as he started moving his head. Again, Gaster shook him, gently.  "Come along, my child...we have to go home."

Papyrus started to rub his eye socket before looking at the smaller skeleton in his lap. He knew it would take too long to wake Sans up, so he started to carry him as he got up from the couch. He walked out of the castle, looking up at Asgore with admiration. **"Thank you for letting us hang out here, your majesty."**

"Of course," Asgore said as he patted Papyrus' skull. "Feel free to come back whenever you'd like!"

Papyrus nodded as he and Gaster headed out of the castle. Gaster was looking down at Sans, running his fingers across his skull. (It seems that he's tired himself out, already).

**"He always tires himself out,"** Papyrus complained, **"If he weren't so frail, then I wouldn't have to carry him!"**

(I suppose not), Gaster replied. (But we love him all the same!)

The walk through New Home had gotten silent, despite the monsters walking passed them. Papyrus looked down at his brother, who hadn't moved since falling asleep at Asgore's castle. He couldn't help but smile. Once Sans woke up, they would no longer be children. Instead, they would be teenagers, and one step closer to adulthood.

Gaster placed a hand on Papyrus' head, gaining the skeleton's attention. While Papyrus was taller, Gaster didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

(Do not worry, I have asked the king ahead of time to give me a day off. Tomorrow, we can do whatever you'd like).

**"Um..."** Papyrus began to think, his eye sockets were partially closed. **"Do you think we could take a look at that fancy restaurant? The one that just opened near the Core?"**

Gaster nodded, (Perhaps we could, that sounds like fun). He let out a nervous chuckle. (Although...hopefully it won't take me all night to reserve a table).

**"Oh..."** Papyrus began to frown. **"I hadn't thought about that!"**

(Not to worry, my child), Gaster said, happily, (For now, it's best to worry about getting to bed. You have a big day tomorrow, after all).

Papyrus nodded as he stood closely by his father. Tomorrow they would be able to spend all day together as a family. Just him, Sans, and Gaster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter isn't really the best...but what can you do, eh?


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Sans and Papyrus' birthday, plus Gaster has a surprise waiting for Sans.

It was finally morning. And as usual, Papyrus was the first to wake up. He looked at his night stand, he noticed that there was a present sitting next to his alarm clock. It was wrapped up in bone-patterned wrapping paper. There was a note attached to the present, but Papyrus struggled to read it...especially since the note was written in Wingdings.

"I thought that since you two are older, you might not want to wear those striped shirts, anymore...

...Unless you want to, then I won't judge.

\- From, Dad."

Papyrus smiled as he opened the present, what was inside was an orange sweater, brown shorts, and a red baseball cap. He started changing into his clothes without question. Once he had gotten himself dressed, he raced into the kitchen where his father was waiting with his legs crossed. Sitting on the table was a spider cake with a web pattern in the center of it.

(I see you like the outfit I have given you), Gaster said, happily.

**"How could I not?"** Papyrus replied, **"I've always wanted to wear something that made me look cooler!"**

(Well, I'm certainly glad that you like them!) Gaster said as he clasped his hands together. After several minutes passed, Sans started to stumble out of his room. He wore a plain white sweater and black shorts, similar to what Papyrus was wearing minus the hat.

_"mornin', dad."_

(Good morning, Sans), Gaster replied, (Do you like your new outfit?)

_"hm...?"_ Sans tilted his head, still half-asleep. _"yeah...it's great."_

(Well...I did have a few more presents to give, but I think that we should wait a little longer before I start giving them out). Gaster turned his head towards Sans. (I especially have a surprise for you!)

_"wh-what!?"_ Sans' eyes widened in shock. _"why me!?"_

"Ahaha..." Gaster let out a soft cackle. (You will see soon enough, my child!)

**"Wowie~!"** Papyrus yelled as he shook Sans by the shoulder. **"A surprise like that HAS to be good! Wouldn't you agree, brother?"**

Sans began to smile sheepishly as he rubbed his arm. _"um...yeah, sounds great!"_

Gaster placed a hand on Sans' shoulder as he detected uncertainty in his voice. (Do not worry, my child. I guarantee that you will love it).

Sans nodded, though that still didn't get rid of his suspicions.

...Still, it was his birthday, so maybe it really is a good gift that Gaster was hiding?

 

* * *

 

After the morning had passed, the three skeletons made their way to a new restaurant...simply named "Restaurant" (apparently, someone thought that it was a good idea to let King Asgore name the place).

The three of them made their way to a small table near the stage. On the stage was a drake from Snowdin, where he continued to tell different jokes.

"Now...where I come from, it's always cold...in fact, it's actually gotten so cold that the Royal Canine Unite started to wear CATS"

While there was some laughter in the audience, Papyrus felt himself cringe, he started whispering to his brother. **"And I thought your jokes were bad!"**

Sans snorted. _"believe me...if i were up there, they'd start throwin' tomatoes before i say anything!"_

**"Well, I would still clap for you, regardless,"** Papyrus said. Although he began to mutter, **"Even if I do have to put up with your annoying puns on a daily basis!"**

_"well...then if I WERE on stage, then what would I be called?"_

**"You'd be called a Comic, Sans!"**

Papyrus' eyes widened as he realized he just said a bad pun. Sans started to laugh as Papyrus grabbed a nearby ketchup bottle. He pointed it towards his brother like it was a gun. **"Don't think I won't use this!"**

_"joke's on you, 'cause i LOVE ketchup!"_

"Boys!"

The skeletons looked at Gaster with a nervous expression. Their father glared as he began to sign. (You're 13, I should not have to scold you two like a pair of baby bones!)

Upon seeing their father's angered expression, Sans began to bury himself into his sweater while Papyrus placed the ketchup back down onto the table. They both looked away in pure shame.

A few more minutes had passed until a fox walked over to them and handed the skeletons their food. Gaster received a steak, Sans received a hamburger, and Papyrus received a plate of spaghetti. Gaster politely thanked the fox as they started making their way back over to the kitchen.

As everyone started to eat, Sans took the top bun off his burger. Afterwards, he took ketchup bottle off the table and started drowning the helpless hamburger in ketchup. Papyrus started to give him weird looks as he took a small bite out of his spaghetti.

Gaster couldn't help but feel awkward as it had gone silent between them. Sans had already gotten ketchup on his sweater while Papyrus had already finished his food. The eldest skeleton in the group cleared his throat, gaining his sons' attention.

(So how have things been going for you two?)

**"We've been doing fine, actually,"** Papyrus replied.

_"although the other day, ricky decided to throw me in the trash,_ " Sans added as he took another bite of his burger.

"Oh dear..." Gaster placed a hand over his mouth in shock. (He hasn't hurt you again, has he?)

Sans shook his head. _"nope, but i was stuck in that thing 'til class started, again."_

**"It's true,"** Papyrus replied, **"I had to carry Sans over to our next class. It took two teachers to get him un-stuck."** He placed a hand over his jaw. **"...Or was it three?"**

(Either way, I hope you two were all right), Gaster replied.

**"We were fine,"** Papyrus replied, **"although shortly after we got Sans out of the trash, Sclara tried to challenge us to a fight...but we refused, since we had to pay attention to the teacher."**

_"well...that and we're not s'posed to be fighting, really."_ Sans responded.

Gaster tilted his head, he mustered a fake smile. (Well...those are some interesting stories...but has anything good happened in school?)

_"uh..."_ Sans looked up at the ceiling as he started rubbing his jaw. _"well, there was that one time where some of the teachers handed everyone some monster candy."_

Papyrus frowned, **"Didn't one of the teachers hand out licorice?"**

_"oh yeah,"_ Sans started to smile. _"i remember that that you took a bite out of it and made one of the weirdest faces imaginable!"_

**"Yeah, because it was gross!"** Papyrus replied. **"Candy should NOT taste like that!"**

_"hehe..."_ Sans let out a chuckle, he looked at Gaster. _"anyways, i ended up feeling bad for him, so i gave him some of my candy."_

(Well...that was nice of you, Sans.), Gaster signed, (I'm glad you two still get along so well...most of the time.)

**"Well, brothers have to stick together,"** Papyrus said as he wrapped his arm around Sans. **"I mean, I'm sure I would've done the same thing if he had to taste that licorice...Isn't that right, Sans?"**

Sans nodded without saying anything.

(Oh, I'm sure you would), Gaster said, happily. He smiled sheepishly, (Although, I actually kind of like licorice).

**"Then maybe next time we'll be sure to give you some,"** Papyrus replied.

_"i still have some back home if you want it,"_ Sans replied. Gaster started to chuckle softly.  (I would appreciate that, thank you!)

After the skeletons were finished with their meal, Gaster payed the fox as they came by to take their plates back to the kitchen. He left a tip on the table and started to leave with Sans and Papyrus right behind him.

 

* * *

 

Once the trio left the restaurant, Gaster decided it was best to head back to their apartment. He handed both skeletons three presents each and without hesitation, Papyrus opened all three of his presents. He received a jigsaw puzzle, a puzzle cube, and a journal.

Papyrus was happy with what he had gotten. There wasn't a lot of room in New Home to freely create puzzles, so he was happy to have a jigsaw puzzle and a puzzle cube to play with. Plus, he thought the journal could be used to write down puzzle ideas, or maybe even be used to write an autobiography if he ever became a Royal Guardsman.

Papyrus turned his head to face his brother with a curious gaze. **"What did you get, Sans?"**

Sans was speechless, which caused Papyrus to worry. He began to wave a bony hand in front of his brother's face. **"Sans?"**

Looking down at Sans' presents, he received a joke book, some socks, and a small, white lab coat.

(So did you two enjoy your gifts?) Gaster asked, smiling.

**"I love them,"** Papyrus replied, **"I don't know about Sans, though."**

Gaster frowned, he looked at Sans with a worried look. (Is something wrong, Sans?)

Sans was puzzled, he picked the lab coat off the ground. _"what's with this? did you wrap this up on accident or something?"_

Gaster shook his head, he walked over to Sans and knelt down to his level. (I know that since you were young, you have always wanted to follow in my foot steps. I'm afraid you're still too young to work as a scientist. But if you would like, you may start to visit me after school and become my apprentice.)

_"um...wow,"_ Sans examined his lab coat a bit more. It looked a little big on him, like if he were to put it on, his fingers would still be visible. _"i still dunno how i should feel about this."_

Gaster gave Sans a disappointed look. (Well...if you don't want to, then-)

_"no, wait!"_ Sans waved his hands frantically. _"i WANT to become a scientist, i really do!"_ He looked down at the floor and started twiddling his thumbs. _"it's just that i wasn't expecting you to ask me so quickly."_

**"Um...If I can say something, really quick!"**

The older skeletons looked over at Papyrus, who was smiling patiently at his brother.

**"You see...If I were in your position, I'd become father's apprentice in a heartbeat...even though we don't have hearts, but you get what I mean!"**

Sans started at the taller skeleton with wide eyes. _"a-are you sure about this, pap? i mean, we might not get to hang around as much if i do this."_

Papyrus nodded in understanding. **"Yes, I know. But I'd rather have you live for your own sake then just for mine. I mean, just think of the friends you'll make at the lab!"** Papyrus pulled his brother into a hug. **"Besides, isn't this what you've always wanted?"**

_"hehe..."_ Sans couldn't help but smile at his brother's comment, there was no way he could refuse, now. _"if you really think i should, then i'll do it!"_

(Excellent), Gaster said, happily, (then i will see you tomorrow after school!)

Gaster walked out of the room, possibly to get the spider cake. Papyrus sighed as he looked down at Sans. **"Well...I'd say today was a great birthday. wouldn't you agree?"**

_"um...sure,"_ Sans replied as he continuously looked over the lab coat. Papyrus gave him a reassuring look as he gently headbutted his brother's skull. **"Look, there's nothing to be afraid of. All right? And besides, I'm sure you'll make a great apprentice!"**

As Papyrus lifted his skull, Sans couldn't help but smile at his brother. _"i guess you're right, there's nothin' to be afraid of..."_

**"And if anything bad DOES happens, don't be afraid to tell me, OK?"**

_"...all right, papyrus!"_

Gaster walked back into the room, carrying the spider cake with him. The cake had 13 candles in it. As much as Gaster wished he could sing, he knew that wasn't going to happen. Magic hands appeared besides Gaster's head as he started to sign. (So who wants to blow them out?)

Sans looked up at Papyrus. _"why don't you do it?"_

**"Are you sure about this?"** Papyrus asked, **"Don't you want to blow the candles out with me?"**

Sans shrugged as he laid his head down against Papyrus' chest. _"i would, but i'm just too tired..."_

But before he could sleep, Papyrus shook him gently to keep him awake. **"We're doing this together! After all, it's your birthday, too!"**

_"all right, fine!"_

Once the brothers blew the candles out, Gaster placed the cake down on the table and started to cut it up. As far as Papyrus was concerned, this had to be one of the best birthdays that they ever had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna say this right now: Enjoy the cuteness while you can.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans heads off to his father's lab.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I meant to update this sooner...but hey, better late then never!

Another day had finally gone by. Once Sans was finished with school, he bid Papyrus farewell and started heading out to Hotland. While he didn't mind Hotland like Papyrus did, his only complaint was its reliance on using elevators. No matter what he did, he could never get over that dizzy feeling that they constantly gave him.

Sans stumbled out of the elevator like a drunkard, he fell onto his knees. Perhaps if he stayed like this, he would be able to get over it quicker.

"Tch...wierdo!"

Sans looked up, he saw two fire monsters and a skeleton monster heading into the elevator while looking right AT him. His face started to turn blue as he buried himself into his sweater. It looked like laying on the floor wasn't going to help, so he thought it was best to suck it up and keep walking.

Hotland remained as, well... _hot_ as ever. Lava flowed freely below the monsters like slow, moving rivers. And due to Waterfall being so close, it made the air incredibly humid. Fortunately for Sans, skeletons couldn't detect temperature very well. With that being said, the heat didn't bother him too much. The one thing that DID bother Sans was the thought of falling into the lava. Unless one was a fire monster, there was no way someone would survive falling in.

Once Sans made it to the lab, he felt himself hesitate. He felt that maybe he shouldn't be here, that he should've just gone home with Papyrus like he usually did.

...No, his father was expecting him to be here. It just wouldn't feel right to just ditch him like this!

He knocked on the door to the lab, waiting for what seemed like an eternity until he was greeted by a small, yellow dinosaur.

"U-um..." The dinosaur rubbed her claws nervously, "Y-yes? Can I help you?"

_"yeah...do you think you could tell Dr. Gaster that his son's waiting for him out here?"_

"Oh," The dinosaur started to smile. "You're Dr. Gaster's son!?"

Sans nodded. _"Yep, so can I come in?"_

"Of course," The dinosaur said as she started leading Sans into the lab. "H-he's been expecting you all day!"

This part of the lab was small, containing a small computer, a couch, and a trash can. Aside from it being a lobby, it looked like it could also he a lounge room. In fact, he even thought it could be used as a house if someone wanted to live here. The thought of living in a lab was entertaining, although Papyrus wouldn't be too fond of it.

The duo made their way to the elevator. Sans had to admit, he was literally getting sick of seeing them. The dinosaur gave him a concerned look. "D-do you get motion sick very easily?"

Sans didn't say anything. The dinosaur dug into her coat and pulled out a bottle of pills, she offered to give some to Sans. "I-I get motion sick pretty easily, myself. If you'd like, you could borrow some of these. I don't have any water, though."

_"that's all right,"_ Sans said as he thoughtlessly tossed them into his mouth. _"they don't have any weird side effects, do they?"_

"No, the worse that could happen is that it'll make you drowsy," the dinosaur replied, "Other then that, you should be all right."

The dinosaur pressed a button that lead to the lowest level of the lab, causing the elevator to move. It had suddenly grown silent. Neither of them were willing to talk. It felt like if Sans said anything, the dinosaur would just get annoyed with him rather quickly...Although he could tell that she felt the same way about him.

"Um..." The dinosaur rubbed her hands together. "A-anyways, I'm Alphys. And wh-what's your name?"

_"...i'm Sans"_

"Th-that's a nice name," Alphys replied.

Sans shrugged. _"eh...i'm not too font of it, myself."_

"Oh..." Alphys puffed out her cheeks, she tried to think of another topic to keep things interesting. "S-so...do you like anime?"

Sans tilted his head. _"what's an anime?"_

"Oh my god, I have SO MUCH to show you!" Alphys said excitedly. She began to blush as she looked down at the floor. "U-um...if you're interested, that is..."

_"well that depends,"_ Sans replied as he put his hands in his pockets, _"you mind telling me what an anime is?"_

"I-it's like a foreign cartoon," Alphys replied, "You'll see what I mean, later."

A few moments have passed before the duo finally made their way to the bottom floor. Once the elevator opened, Sans could start to feel his bones rattle. The bottom floor was a bit...dark. In fact, it was so dark that the only visible thing down there were Sans' pupils.

"Come with me," Alphys said as she guided Sans through the creepy old laboratory. Sans felt uneasy, like butterflies had formed in his none-existent stomach. Somehow, he felt like some sort of mad scientist might come out and attack him at any moment.

Sans looked around a bit more, he saw what looked like some sort of dragon skull hanging on the wall. The huge skull was attached to some cables. Just looking at it made him shutter.

"Don't worry," Alphys said, "That thing hasn't been active for YEARS."

Sans nodded, but he couldn't keep his eye off the skull-like machine. He wondered how Alphys could stay so casual around something like that.

It felt like Sans and Alphys had been walking for hours, though it obviously wasn't true. The duo made it into a room where Gaster was fixing some-sort of time machine. Surrounding him were three other monsters. One resembled a cat, one of them resembled a doll, and one of them resembled a face sticking out of the ground.

"If it hasn't worked the first time, it's not going to work the next thousand times!" The face-like monster complained. Gaster scoffed as he stepped into the machine. (I have fixed it up a bit, earlier, so I should be able to go back at least an hour before all this.)

"Dr. Gaster, please!" begged the doll-like monster, but it was too late. The lights on the machine started to blink rapidly, smoke began to fill the room. It seemed like it was going to work, but the machine eventually broke. It electrocuted Gaster in the process.

"What did I tell you?" The face monster grumbled. Gaster started to rub his head as he stepped out of the machine, trying to keep his balance. (I-it's just a minor error!)

Finally, almost every fear that Sans had about this place was gone. He walked over to Gaster while keeping his hands in his pockets. _"i'd hate to sound like mom, but you're gonna get yourself killed if you keep that up!"_

Gaster's eyes widened as he looked down at his son. His face started to turn purple as he looked away in embarrassment. (Hello, my child...)

 

* * *

 

While Sans headed off to Hotland, Papyrus began to walk aimlessly through New Home by himself. He carried the puzzle cube in his hands, he continued to solve it and unsolve it as he walked. He would occasionally bump into other monsters, and once that happened, he would make sure to apologize. He had to admit, it was nice not having Sans follow him around everywhere. And yet, at the same time, it was a bit boring. But as long as his brother was happy, then he was fine with it.

Papyrus had thought that he heard screaming. He looked up and saw several teenagers running from a barrage of firecrackers. He was confused until a firecracker landed near his feet. The skeleton stepped back in terror. When he looked up, he saw Ricky, who had grown bigger over the years. Sclara was sitting on his shoulder. Like Sans, she didn't seem to get any taller.

"Careful, Ricky...we're not s'posed to hurt people!"

Ricky waved a hand at Sclara. "Relax, I wasn't trying to hurt him." The dragon began to frown. "Although it looks like Brittles went missing. Did he die?"

**"No he didn't!"** Papyrus yelled defensively. Ricky nodded in response. "OK, so I guess he abandoned you!"

**"No, he just became dad's apprentice...that's why he's not here."**

"Hm..." Ricky crossed his arms, smiling. "Are you sure it isn't because he found you annoying?"

**"SHUT UP!"** Papyrus yelled. **"HE WOULD NEVER ABANDON ME LIKE THAT!"**

"Heh...well, I wouldn't stick around if I were you, Rattles," Sclara said as orbs formed in her hands, "So I'd suggest you leave now before things turn ugly!"

Before Papyrus had time to respond, Sclara threw the orbs at him. He managed to step back before the attack could hit. As strong as Papyrus was, he wasn't willing to fight. He started to run to his apartment as quickly as possible. Ricky could be heard laughing from afar. "THAT'S RIGHT, YOU COWARD! YOU BETTER RUN!"

Papyrus shook his head, he knew his brother better then anyone. He knew his brother would never abandon him. After all, Papyrus trusted him more then anyone else.

Eventually, Papyrus made it back to his apartment in one piece. He was breathing heavily as he pressed his back against the door. Thankfully, Ricky didn't follow him here, or they both would've gotten into big trouble.

The skeleton looked around in the empty apartment. There was no Gaster, there was no Sans, Papyrus was just here all by himself.

The skeleton began to think...Sans and Gaster weren't going to be here for at least another hour. He could clean the apartment, but it was clean enough as it is (save for one stray sock on the floor). He could try to cook something before Sans and Gaster came home, but he had no idea how to cook. Eventually, he decided the best way to kill time was with puzzles.

Papyrus grabbed a nearby jigsaw puzzle and scattered the pieces onto the table. The puzzle didn't seem too hard to solve. He noticed a few pieces were missing, but he was able to complete the puzzle as best as he could within half an hour. It was the image of an echo flower.

Come to think of it, it's been years since Papyrus has been to Waterfall. He remembered how fun it was to "argue" with the echo flowers, as well as how beautifully the rocks glowed along the ceiling. Sure, Papyrus was old enough to go by himself, but it wouldn't feel right to just leave without the rest of his family.

Papyrus felt himself yawn. He had to admit, it was boring when nobody else was around. He laid his head down onto the table, closing his eye sockets as he drifted off into sleep. Perhaps a small nap wouldn't hurt...

...

...

Papyrus sat up like an excited puppy when he heard the door open. He saw Gaster walk in, holding an ice pack on his head. Sans was standing besides him, making sure that he didn't fall over. _"take it easy, old man!"_

**"What happened?"** Papyrus asked with a hint of concern.

_"dad was tryin' to get some sorta time machine to work,"_ Sans replied as he helped Gaster sit on the couch. _"he just needs to lay down for a minute."_

**"Oh, OK."** Papyrus said before realization hit him like a brick. **"Wait, did you say 'time machine'!?"**

_"yep!"_ Sans walked over to the kitchen table, sitting next to Papyrus. _"apparently he's been trying to find a way to free everyone...and according to him, the only way to do that without killing anybody is time travel."_

**"So he's been trying to go back before the Monster-Human war ever happened?"**

_"something like that, yes,"_ Sans replied. The smaller skeleton got side tracked when he looked down at the puzzle sitting on the table. _"oh, hey...did you solve that all by yourself?"_

**"Yes I did,"** Papyrus said, proudly, **"Only the greatest can solve such a hard puzzle!"**

_"heh...then maybe next time we should just get you one of those 500 piece puzzles."_

**"I would love that,"** Papyrus said happily, **"Besides, The Great Papyrus is always up for a challenge!"**

_"i'm sure you are, bro."_

**"Nyeh heh heh."** Papyrus chuckled. He looked at Sans with a curious gaze. **"So how did things go at the lab?"**

_"mmm..."_ Sans placed a hand on his jaw as he began to think. _"it was all right, i guess. dad's assistants were pretty nice to me. heck, one of them even offered to let me borrow one of her VHS tapes."_

As if on cue, Sans pulled the tape you from his coat. Papyrus couldn't help but stare at it. **"Wowie...I wonder what could be in such a tape?"**

_"cartoons."_

**"Oh..."** Papyrus said in disappointment. **"Aren't those supposed to be for babies?"**

_"i dunno, pap. this one's actually pretty good."_

**"Whatever you say, brother,"** Papyrus teased. He couldn't help but smile, though. To him it sounded like Sans had a good time at the lab. And while it did mean that they wouldn't get to spend much time together, Papyrus was all right with it as long as Sans was happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No heartbreak just yet, but it'll get there!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans starts to doubt Papyrus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look! An early update!

Despite how much time had past, school hadn't been that different. Although for Papyrus, it seemed that classes had always gotten more and more complicated, each year. At this point, it wouldn't surprise him if they asked what the square root of a dog was.

It was lunch time, and Papyrus was sitting at an empty table. He was eating a peanut butter sandwich while doing some of his homework. One good thing about lunch was that he was always able to do homework as soon as possible. And once he was done, he could just do whatever he wanted later.

Papyrus looked up from doing his work, he saw his brother walk over, carrying a hot dog and some french fries of his tray.

_"hey, bro,"_ Sans said as he sat next to Papyrus. _"whatcha workin' on?"_

**"Oh, I'm just working on poetry,"** Papyrus said as he tapped his pencil against his skull. **"Unfortunately...I have yet to write anything down."**

_"well...maybe i can help,"_ Sans said as he took a bit out of hit hot dog. _"does it have to be anything specific?"_

Papyrus shook his head. **"No, not really."**

_"well...then why not write a poem about yourself?"_

**"Are you sure about this?"** Papyrus asked, raising a non-existent eyebrow.

_"sure i'm sure,"_ Sans replied, _"who knows? they might actually like it, this time."_

**"Hm..."** Papyrus began writing as words started popping up in his head. **"I think you might be right about this!"**

_"see? what'd i tell ya?"_ Sans asked as he winked at his brother. Papyrus continuously wrote words down onto the paper. It might not give him an A, but it could be enough to give him a B or a C...and to him, that was good enough.

Meanwhile, at another table, Ricky was glaring at Papyrus from afar. "So I guess we weren't able to break him, after all."

"Well...you know how stubborn he is," Sclara said as she took a bite out of her fries. "You try to insult him and it'll barely do a thing!"

"Well...maybe there's a different way to break him," Ricky said as he tapped his fingers against the table. "but how're we supposed to do that?"

"Honestly, would you give it a rest?" Sclara said bitterly. "Face it, he's not the kind of monster who breaks that easily."

Suddenly, an idea formed in Ricky's head. "Right...he isn't very easy to break, but his brother is! Both physically AND mentally."

Sclara stopped herself from eating as she placed her fries back down on the tray. "What? So you're saying that we should go after Brittles, instead?"

"Just think for a moment," Ricky said, grinning. "If we convince Brittles that his brother HATES him, then it'll break Rattles in the process!"

"Honestly, that sounds like a dumb idea," Sclara said with a deadpan expression. Ricky shook his head. "Nah, I'm sure it'll work!"

"I dunno, Ricky-"

"Either you're in or you're not," Ricky grumbled as a fireball formed in his claws. "And if you're not in, then I won't hesitate to treat you like everyone else!"

Sclara felt herself shutter. As a bully, she had her limits. But as a friend, she couldn't just abandon Ricky. Either way, she was screwed.

"OK, fine!" Sclara said, reluctantly. "Just tell me what I gotta do!"

"Make sure to talk to Rattles before he gets home," Ricky said as he handed Sclara a voice recorder. "And make sure to use this!"

Sclara looked at the voice recorder with sheer curiosity. "What? You want me to just record him or something?"

"Exactly!" Ricky said, "But make sure to ask him about something that he doesn't like or it won't work!"

Sclara began to frown. She really didn't want to do this, but she didn't want to face Ricky's wrath, either. It was a dumb idea, but with some convincing acting, it could work.

 

* * *

 

School was finally over, Sans and Papyrus had said good-bye to each other and headed their separate ways. While Sans headed off into Hotland, Papyrus decided to just return home for the day. He didn't want to take any chances with the bullies.

...Speaking of bullies...

"Hey, Rattles!"

Papyrus felt himself jump upon hearing Sclara's voice. He looked back at the Astigmatism, frightened. **"Whatever it is, I don't want to fight you for it!"**

"Relax, I'm not gonna pick on you or anything!" Sclara said as she caught up to him. She pulled a tape recorder out of her bag. "I'm just here to interview you for a newspaper!"

Papyrus tilted his head. **"Really? I didn't know you worked for the newspaper."**

"Well, um..." Sclara started to rub her arm uncomfortably. "I just started working for it, it's really fun."

**"Oh,"** Papyrus began to smile, **"Well, I'm glad that you were able to find a job you like~!"**

"Yeah, whatever." Sclara turned the voice recorder on. "So how do you feel about your brother?"

**"Sans?"**

"No, I'm talking about King Asgore," Sclara said sarcastically.

**"But the King's not-"**

"YES, I MEAN SANS!" Sclara snapped. Papyrus flinched, defensively. **"OK! OK! You don't have to shout!"**

"Ugh..." Sclara placed a hand over her face. "Just answer the question!"

**"Well,"** Papyrus placed a hand over his jaw. **"He's practically my best friend...granted, he's my only friend." Papyrus smiled. "but regardless, I'm lucky to have someone like him around."**

Sclara nodded. "Right...but does he ever bother you at all?"

**"Well, he can be pretty lazy at times. Plus his jokes are TERRIBLE...but other then that, he doesn't bother me that much."**

"Huh...I see..." Sclara began to look down at the ground. Despite how stupid this plan was, she somehow felt guilty. She was beginning to wonder why she bullied these skeletons in the first place. Was it because of the way they talked? Or the way they acted?

**"Is something wrong?"** Papyrus asked in concern. Sclara shook her head. "I'm fine, let me just ask you another question."

**"OK, lay it on me!"**

"Um..." Sclara began to think. As nice as he was, there HAD to be someone that Papyrus couldn't stand...anyone would do. Suddenly, Sclara had the perfect idea.

"What are your thoughts on that UFO-looking monster? What was he called? Jerry?"

**"Jerry, huh?"**

Sclara nodded. "Yeah, have you heard of him?"

**"Honestly..."** Papyrus started to frown. **"Don't tell anyone, but that guy just gets on my nerves!"**

"Wait, really!?" Sclara asked in complete shock.

**"Don't get me wrong, I've TRIED to like him,"** Papyrus said as he adjusted his hat, **"But he's just so GROSS! Not to mention that he's annoying, selfish, and he always leaves a scent that could make my skin crawl!"**

"Great..." Sclara turned the voice recorder off. "That's it, thank you..."

**"Wait, that's it?"** Papyrus asked in disappointment. **"Are you sure you don't want to ask me anything else?"**

"Yes, I'm sure," Sclara said in a deadpan tone. She began to walk away. "I'll talk to ya later, chump!"

Papyrus frowned, he wondered what had gotten into Sclara all of a sudden. Although perhaps it was just a personal issue. Whatever it was, he thought it was best to leave her be. She did have Ricky to talk with, after all.

Meanwhile, Sclara continued to examine the voice recorder in her hands. She was willing to toss it into the trash, or throw it into the river, but Ricky would be quick to notice right away.

At any rate, it was best to just stick with the plan.

 

* * *

 

As another school day had gone by, Sans and Papyrus were walking through New Home. This time, the younger of the two was escorting Sans out to Hotland.

**"So how's the lab been so far?"**

_"it's been fun,"_ Sans replied. _"alphys even said that she'd even take me to the garbage dump with her friends, next week!"_

**"Who's Alphys?"**

_"Eh...don't worry about it,"_ Sans said with a shrug. He took a pill out of his coat and tossed it into his mouth. Afterwards, he pulled out a water bottle and drank from it.

**"Hey, Sans?"**

_"yeah, bro?"_

**"I've been meaning to ask you...why do you carry those pills around?"**

_"oh, alphys gave them to me so i wouldn't get sick on the elevator,"_ Sans replied, _"they've been working pretty well, so far."_

**"That's good,"** Papyrus said happily, **"Just try not to take too many of them. And make sure you take care of yourself at the lab, all right?"**

_"whatever, mom!"_

As the two skeletons made their way to the elevator, Papyrus picked his brother off the ground and squeezed him. **"I love you~!"**

_"heh..."_ Sans patted his brother's skull. _"i love you too, pap!"_

Papyrus gently placed his older twin down. They said their good-byes and started heading their separate ways. Now that Papyrus was alone, maybe he'll borrow a few books from the library? Or maybe he'll just sit on the couch and play with his puzzle cube? As long as it helped pass the time, it didn't really matter.

 

* * *

 

Sans was already on his way to the lab, the small skeleton kept his hands in his pockets as his lab coat dragged along the floor. He was quickly getting used to walking through Hotland, which thankfully, didn't cause him any problems since working as Gaster's apprentice. He no longer worried about the lava underneath the platforms, nor did he worry about the elevators. Maybe one day, he might even bring Papyrus over for a walk to see if he'd get used to it, here.

Meanwhile, Sclara was hiding behind a nearby cactus, debating on what she should do. She pulled out her cell phone and started to call Ricky. The phone rang a few times before someone finally picked it up.

"So how'd it go?"

"I haven't done anything yet," Sclara replied, "Are you sure we shouldn't just call it off?"

"Of course not!" Ricky said in an upbeat tone. "Besides, isn't it healthy for siblings to fight?"

"Well, I guess so, but-"

"Then stop wasting time and go after Brittles!"

Ricky hung up the cell phone, causing Sclara to panic. "Ricky, wait! I don't wanna-"

Suddenly, Sclara was surrounded by a blue hue. Before she could comprehend what was going on, she began to hover in the air. She was floating upside-down and was face-to-face with an annoyed Sans. _"whaddaya doin' out here, ya creep!?"_

"U-um..." Sclara felt herself tremble. "Well...I didn't want to tell ya this, but your brother's been saying really nasty things behind your back!"

Sans dropped Sclara onto the ground, glaring at the monster in front of him. _"you're lying!"_

"No I'm not," Sclara said as she pulled out her recording device. "See for yourself!"

She turned the recording device on, allowing to play some edited audio.

**"Don't tell anyone, but that guy just gets on my nerves!"**

**"Don't get me wrong, I've TRIED to like him, "But he's just so GROSS! Not to mention that he's annoying, selfish, and he always leaves a scent that makes my skin crawl!"**

Sans raised a non-existent eyebrow, _"so he was just trying to get rid of me? is that why he wanted me to be dad's apprentice?"_

Sclara nodded, looking down at her feet. "yeah...pretty much."

_"and how do i know that this isn't made up?"_

Sclara just shrugged. "Hey, either you believe or you don't...but I'm telling you that's HIS voice!"

Sans began to frown. He knew it had to be a joke, but given how vain Papyrus could be, it wouldn't surprise him if it were true. He had to go back, he wanted to know if what Papyrus said was true or not.

Sclara felt herself shutter, again. Not from fear, but from rage. She threw her cell phone into the lava and watched it melt. She never wanted to talk to Ricky, again.

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile, back in New Home, Papyrus was sitting on the couch, playing with his puzzle cube. He was able to complete one side, but the biggest question was: How was he going to finish the other sides?

Suddenly, he saw the door slam open. Sans was out of breath, he looked like he was about to collapse at any second.

**"Oh, hello,"** Papyrus said, looking over at Sans. **"Aren't you supposed to be at the lab?"**

_"d-don't worry about it!"_ Sans said as he tried to catch his breath. He looked up at Papyrus with a cold glare. _"did you mean everything you said?"_

**"Um..."** Papyrus tilted his head. **"What do you mean?"**

_"do you really think i'm annoying and selfish?"_

**"WHAT? NO!"** Papyrus yelled. He walked over to Sans and examined him, placing his hands on his cheekbones. **"Are you stressed? Maybe you're dehydrated? Or maybe haven't been getting enough sleep?"**

_"gees, pap! I'm fine!"_ Sans protested. Papyrus let out a sigh of relief as he wrapped his arms around the smaller skeleton. **"You know I love you more then anything, so why are you having these bad thoughts all of a sudden?"**

_"...heh...hehe..."_ Sans buried his face into Papyrus' chest. _"i guess i was just being stupid, i knew i shouldn't have listened to Sclara."_

**"Odd...she actually talked to me, yesterday,"** Papyrus said frowning. **"She said she wanted to interview me...although she did ask me about Jerry yesterday, so maybe you heard me ranting about him, instead."**

_"ugh..."_ Sans rattled his bones in disgust. _"no wonder you said all that stuff, that guy is TERRIBLE!"_

Papyrus picked his brother off the ground and gently placed him onto the couch. **"Here, I'll call dad and tell him that you're staying with me for today."**

Sans couldn't but feel bad about leaving his father at the lab, but he was certain that he would understand, nonetheless.

Papyrus grabbed the phone that was hanging from the wall and started to call him (or rather, one of his assistants). While Gaster seemed disappointed, he was all right with letting Sans spend the rest of the day home. Sans let out a deep yawn, curling up on the side of the couch before falling asleep. Upon seeing his brother sleep, Papyrus grabbed a nearby blanket and wrapped it around Sans. After all, someone had to take care of him while Gaster wasn't around.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus makes a new friend

One month had passed, and Sans was spending more time helping his father at the lab. Because of this, Papyrus was often left alone. While he did like being able to do things by himself, he would often get lonely without Sans or Gaster around. In fact, he would even go as far as to say that he was jealous of Sans for spending so much time with their father.

Papyrus was sitting on a bench at the park, his jaw resting in his hands. He let out a deep sigh as he watched as a small group of kids played in the playground. He had to admit, it looked like fun...although he'd probably get some strange looks from other monsters if he joined in. He had to admit, being older certainly had its disadvantages.

Eventually, something caught Papyrus' eye. Standing behind a nearby tree were the horns of a certain Astigmatism, one of which had a ribbon tied to it.

**"What are you doing back there?"** Papyrus asked, catching Sclara by surprise."Why do you care!?"

**"Well, you just seem a bit troubled, that's all!"** Papyrus said as he patted the space next to him. **"Why not sit next to me? I'm sure you'd like to have someone to talk to."**

Sclara looked around a bit before she begrudgingly sat down next to Papyrus. "So whaddaya want?"

**"I just want to know if you were OK."**

"I'm fine...except..." Sclara started to look down, unwilling to talk. "Forget it, you wouldn't care!"

**"Are you absolutely sure you don't want to talk about it?"** Papyrus asked patiently. **"I guess it's understandable. Usually when Sans gets upset, it takes a little while for him to say anything."**

It remained silent for a while, Papyrus was playfully kicking his legs like a child. As mean as Sclara was, he was willing to let her talk to him. And while he wasn't a therapist by any means, he was willing to lend a metaphorical ear to other monsters.

Finally, Sclara turned her head to face Papyrus. She opened her mouth, revealing her giant eyeball. "Tell me...do you think Ricky and I are scary?"

**"Well, yeah,"** Papyrus said, bluntly, **"You two are always finding ways to terrorize us!"**

"I figured as much," Sclara replied. "But I can't really help it, it's in my nature."

**"As an Astigmatism?"**

"Well, yes. It's kind of like how you skeletons always have those weird names."

Papyrus shrugged. **"It's one of those weird traditions we skeletons have...Not that I mind, really."**

"I guess we're all a little weird in some way," Sclara said as she closed her mouth. She started to grin. Papyrus nodded in agreement. For a while, the two of them continued to talk. They freely compared their species, mentioning how stubborn Astigmatisms were or how skeletons could talk in many different ways. They even began to tell stories about Sans and Ricky. While Papyrus and Sclara never got along in most circumstances, it was like they were talking to the friend they never had.

Eventually, Sclara started to look down at the pavement, taking a deep breath. "Y'know...in a way, Ricky was always jealous of you two."

**"Are you serious?"** Papyrus asked in disbelief. Sclara nodded. "Yep...he always hated how you and Bri...Sans got along so well. He wanted to ruin that friendship more then anything."

**"Well...I don't think anything could get me to hate Sans."**

"But don't you two ever fight?"

**"Of course we do,"** Papyrus replied. Sclara looked up at him, shocked. "No way, you mean you've actually FOUGHT Sans!?"

**"Well, yes,"** Papyrus replied, **"We ARE brothers, after all."** The skeleton closed his eye sockets for a moment. **"We've bickered about all kinds of things, including a lot of stupid stuff, but I could never hurt him."** Papyrus spoke fondly as he opened his eye sockets. **"And sure, he may be frail and sickly at times, but stats aside, he's one of the strongest monsters I know."**

"Ahahahaha," Sclara couldn't help but laugh. "No wonder Sans likes you, you're just a complete sap!" As Sclara stopped laughing, she began to frown. "You know...sometimes I'd wish Ricky was a bit softer. That way he wouldn't hurt so many people and we could still be friends."

Papyrus smiled sympathetically at the smaller monster. **"If you'd like, then maybe we could be friends."**

Sclara tilted her head in confusion. "Even after all I've done to you, you STILL want to be friends?"

**"Of course I do,"** Papyrus said warmly. **"Besides, I can see now that you can be a nice monster. You just need to speak with the right person."**

"But why would I..." Sclara stopped herself mid-sentence. She began to smile as she got off the bench. "You know what, call me whatever ya want." The astigmatism began to leave, she waved at Papyrus. "I'll see ya later!"

Papyrus waved to Sclara as she left. He was happy that he could help another monster in need. It was one of those reasons that he wanted to be a guardsman in the first place. He stretched as he began to head back home. After speaking to his new friend, he was finally ready to spend some time with his own family.

 

* * *

 

As Papyrus walked into the apartment, he was greeted with the smell of burning rubber. He defensively covered his nasal cavity. **"What's going on, here?"**

_"oh, dad's just makin' us some dinner,"_ Sans, replied, as though it were normal. _"he says he's making some lasagna, but i just think he's cooking a tire."_

**"Well...I suppose you can't get better unless you keep trying,"** Papyrus replied as he sat down on the couch, next to his brother. Sans looked up at Papyrus with a curious gaze. _"so, how've you been?"_

Papyrus began to smile, triumphantly. **"I actually made a new friend, today!"**

_"oh, you did!?"_ Sans asked, excitedly. _"papyrus, i'm so proud of you!"_

**"Well, she's actually very nice once you get to know her."**

_"heh..."_ Sans looked a little suspicious, _"she wouldn't happen to be sclara, would she?"_

**"How did you know!?"**

_"oh my god!"_ Sans yelled as he started to rub his own skull, _"papyrus, you know this can't end well!"_

Papyrus raised an eyebrow. **"Why not?"**

_"'cause she's been bullying us for YEARS!"_

**"Look, Sans...I know where you're coming from, but I think she's changed. You may not like her, but at least I'm willing to give her a chance!"**

_"heh...i guess there's no changing your mind, is there?"_ Sans asked as he shrugged. _"just be careful around her, ok?"_

Papayrus smiled warmly as he started petting Sans' skull. **"Don't worry, brother. I'm sure she'll won't do anything bad to me, anymore."**

Smoke started to leave the kitchen, Sans and Papyrus watched as Gaster ran to grab the fire extinguisher and helplessly fought back against the fire.

_"i think he might be outta practice,"_ Sans whispered. Papyrus replied with a small nod. **"Do you think we should help him?"**

Sans got up from the couch and headed into the kitchen. _"i'll go get the buckets."_

Papyrus followed his brother into the kitchen. It seemed like tonight, they might have to order some pizza, again. Either way, he hoped that Gaster didn't hurt himself too badly.

 

* * *

 

As another day has gone past, Papyrus was walking home by himself. He was carrying a bag with three spider donuts. After what happened last night, he had thought that the best way to cheer his father up was with some sweets.

Not long after Papyrus walked out of the spider bakery, Sclara started to run up to him. "Hey, Rattles...you're interested in becoming a guardsman, aren't you?"

Papyrus tilted his head. **"Yeah, why do you ask?"**

"Well...you know how Captain Gerson retired, a few months back?"

**"Of course I do."**

Sclara began to smile as she held her hands behind her head. "Well, I hear that just recently, King Asgore chose an entirely new captain. I hear that she's so strong, she could lift a boulder 10 times her size!"

**"R-really!?"** Papyrus' eyes began to sparkle in admiration. **"Wowie...I'd certainly like to meet her, one day!"**

Sclara scoffed at that comment. "Yeah, as long as she doesn't beat you up, first. I hear that she can be BRUTAL towards her enemies." The astigmatism placed a hand on her chin. "Well...maybe that only applies to bad guys. But still, if I ever got to meet her, I'd certainly careful around her."

**"Nyehehehe..."** Papyrus chuckled nervously. For someone so strong to become captain of the Royal Guard, she must've been very popular. The skeleton couldn't help but admire someone like that, but he had to wonder what type of monster she was. Maybe she's a boss monster? Or quite possibly a dragon? Heck, she could even be another skeleton for all he knew.

Sclara had a look of concern on her face, she began to pull on Papyrrus' sleeve. "Hey, Rattles...you OK?"

**"Oh,"** Papyrus looked down at the astigmatism, he started to blush in embarrassment. **"Sorry, I must've zoned out on you."**

"Right, well...I'm sure Asgore has a reason for hiring her. And if that's the case, then we'll be safe as long as she's in charge."

Papyrus nodded in agreement. **"Yeah, I'm sure we will be..."**

Meanwhile, Ricky was hiding behind a nearby tree. Smoke was coming out of his nostrils as he snarled. How DARE he talk to Sclara! How DARE he steal his best friend away from him!

Ricky clawed at the tree as he watched the two monsters walking by. One thing was certain, he had to teach Papyrus a lesson...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp...I can tell the next chapter will be fun. /:


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus fights Ricky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp...this chapter was interesting to write.

 

It was morning, Papyrus heard a knock on the door. Since Sans and Gaster were already gone, it couldn't have been anyone important. Papyrus quickly got dressed and walked over to the front door. He looked down, noticing a letter sitting in front of it. He picked up the strange letter and started reading it.

_"Hey, Papyrus._

_Meet me at the park, I want to show you something cool._

_-Sans."_

Papyrus was suspicious. While the note DID look like it had Sans' handwriting, he highly doubted that his brother wrote this. Especially since he never capitalizes anything he writes down. Plus, if he really wanted to show Papyrus something, then why didn't he say anything in person? There had to be only one explanation for this...Someone had to be impersonating his brother!

Stuffing the note into his hat, Papyrus raced out of the door and into the hallway. He couldn't tell why, but he was getting bad vibes from this.

 

* * *

 

It was silent, the park was empty. Papyrus was walking along the grassy field below him, he looked back and fourth for whoever it was that copied Sans' handwriting...although it never occurred to him that someone might've just typed the note on a computer and print it out.

**"Hello?"** Papyrus called out, **"I know you're out there, you brother impersonator!"**

Without warning, Papyrus was struck in the back with a blast of fire. He was easily knocked into the ground. When he turned his skull, Ricky was walking out from behind a tree. He was towering above him.

"So you think you can steal my best friend from me, huh?"

**"I wasn't stealing anybody,"** Papyrus protested. **"Besides, Sclara herself said she didn't want to be your friend, anymore!"**

Ricky grabbed Papyrus by the scarf and lifted him up to his eye level, "You're a pretty terrible liar, you know that!"

**"Well, if you weren't so mean-"**

"Ahahahaha," Ricky dropped Papyrus back onto the ground, the skeleton's hat fell off of his head. Their souls started to glow in unison before Papyrus could look up. "You think I'm mean? I'll show you mean!"

Ricky sent a swirl of embers after Papyrus, who dodged as many of them as he could. He summoned a bone in his hand to help swat the embers away. **"I don't want to fight, Ricky!"**

"Too bad!" Ricky said as he raced towards Papyrus. His claws made contact with his chest, causing fractures to form in his ribs. The skeleton winced in pain as he struggled to stand, but it seemed like he didn't have any choice but to fight back.

Papyrus' eyes glowed orange and purple as he summoned a group of small dragon skulls (or Gaster Blasters, as his father called them) to try scare Ricky. The blasters opened their mouths in unisonand started shooting lasers at the dragon. However, Ricky kept dodging them. He received a small nick in his shoulder, but otherwise, he wasn't affected.

"Hah, you call that an attack?" Ricky teased, "I'd like to see how you'd do against THIS!"

Ricky began to summon more fire balls. This time, however, they had three different colors: White, blue, and orange. Papyrus tried to dodge the fire balls, remembering what each color was supposed to mean. However, they barely left him any room to dodge, they burned him in the process. While the duo continued to fight, other monsters began to circle the park. Some of them headed off to look for Royal Guard members while others decided to look for the Asgore. Anything worked as long as it stopped the fighting.

As time went on, Papyrus started to feel more and more exhausted, like his magic was already being drained from him. He tried lifting his bone off the ground, but it didn't seem to do anything. Perhaps acting in another way would stop him? He was willing to try it at the very least.

**"Ricky, wait!"** Papyrus said as he raised his hand. The dragon tilted his head, curiously.

**"I-if you'd like, we can still be friends."**

Ricky crossed his arms, scoffing. "And why would I be friends with YOU!?"

**"J-just think for a moment...if you become my friend, then maybe you can become Sclara's friend, again. That way, everyone will be happy and nobody gets hurt."**

"So...you're saying that everything would be better if we were friends?"

**"O-of course,"** Papyrus stuttered. **"Sclara told me how you would get jealous of me and Sans, which is why you act the way you do. If you become my friend, then I promise I will lead you to a better lifestyle."** The skeleton offered his hand in friendship, expecting Ricky to accept it. **"So what do you say, can we be friends?"**

"Well..." Ricky placed hand over his chin, "It does sound tempting..."

Papyrus started to smile, thinking that Ricky finally had a change of heart. However, he was quickly disheartened when Ricky laughed at him.

"Do you honestly think that I would be friends with YOU!? An annoying skeleton such as yourself has no place in this world!" Ricky's claws began to extend. "In fact, one more hit and I'll finally be able to get rid of you!"

Papyrus shrunk back, holding his arms defensively over his head while keeping his eye sockets shut. He should've known that Ricky would never change, and it was going to cost him his own life. Ricky extended his arm backwards before he lunged forward to deliver the final blow. "Good-bye, Rattles!"

"RICKY, NO!"

Papyrus heard Ricky strike something, but it wasn't him. He opened his eye sockets, horror filled his soul as he saw Sclara standing in front of him. She had deep gashes along her entire body, she looked like she was going to die any minute, now.

"Papyrus..." Sclara turned around. Despite the condition she was in, she smiled one of the biggest, most genuine smiles that she could ever do before turning to dust. "I'm glad I got to be your friend."

Papyrus was traumatized, Sclara wasn't really dead, was she? This was all just a bad dream, wasn't it? And yet...when he looked up at Ricky, he looked just as traumatized. Ricky looked down at his claws, they were covered in dust. He stepped back from the Sclara's dust, running away in pure grief.

Papyrus continued to sit there with his jaw wide open, his shoulders drooped. The skeleton couldn't process what has happened, he couldn't believe that Ricky had killed what was once his best friend. He couldn't believe she was DEAD! Papyrus was so shocked, that he didn't notice the gentle, white hand resting on his shoulder. "Are you all right, Papyrus?"

Papyrus looked up to see Asgore standing next to him. He looked back at Sclara's dust, unsure of what to say next.

"Don't worry," Asgore said as he knelt down to Papyrus' level. "I will tell her family what has happened, they will know what to do with her dust."

Papyrus started clinging to Asgore's arm as he tried to hold back his tears. He couldn't cry, he was too strong to cry...but he was just so overwhelmed with grief, he didn't know what to do, now.

"Um...how about you stay at my castle for a little bit?" Asgore asked. "You can stay there and rest while I take care of the dust."

Papyrus finally nodded, speaking in a low, raspy voice. **"OK..."**

Asgore smiled as he gently picked Papyrus off the ground, he carried him over to the castle. He thought it would be the best place to let him grieve before Sans or Gaster returned home.

 

* * *

 

It was late afternoon, and Asgore had just taken Sclara's dust to the castle. After locating her family, he made sure to let them know what had happened to her at the park. He also informed them that her dust was ready to be picked up at the castle in case they wanted to give her a proper funeral.

The goat monster checked in what used to be his son's room. Papyrus has been laying there all day, being much quieter then usual. Asgore knew the feeling of grief all to well, as he remembered the day that lost both of his children...Not to mention all of his comrades who died in the Monster-Human war. Nonetheless, he thought it wouldn't hurt to check on the skeleton.

"Papyrus?"

The skeleton glanced over at Asgore, still laying down on the bed.

"Would you like anything to eat? Perhaps I could try baking you a butterscatch pie."

**"I'm not hungry..."** Papyrus replied in a monotone voice. Asgore nodded in understanding. "Well...would you like for me to call your father?"

Papyrus let out a deep sigh. **"If you must..."**

"All right, I just thought I should ask."

Asgore left the room while gently closing the door behind him. He pulled out his cell phone and called Gaster's number. He was expecting one of his assistants to call for him, but instead he was greeted with a familiar voice.

_"heya!"_

Asgore raised an eyebrow. "...Sans, is that you?"

_"yep, it's me,"_ Sans replied, _"so what's up?"_

"Well, I have Papyrus here with me at the castle, he's not doing very well."

Sans started to sound more distress, his voice was starting to crack. _"is he ok!? he's not sick, is he?"_

"No! No! He's not sick, but...well, I think it would be better if you two came over here as soon as possible."

_"right, i'll tell dad what's up. we'll be right there as soon as possible!"_

Sans quickly hung the phone up. Asgore hoped that they could make it back, soon.

 

* * *

 

Shortly after Asgore called them, Sans and Gaster were heading back to New Home. Gaster had asked his assistants to take care of the lab while he was gone. He also made sure that nothing was out of place before he left. As they walked, Gaster continued to give Sans a worried look.

(So tell me again why Asgore needs us at his castle?)

_"he said something happened to papyrus,"_ Sans explained. Gaster began to frown.  (He isn't hurt, is he?)

_"i dunno,"_ Sans said with a shrug. _"but asgore sounded pretty serious when i talked to him."_

As the skeletons made their way through New Home, they began to notice the sudden change in atmosphere. Sans wasn't able to describe it, but New Home had a..."quiet" feel to it. It felt like they were walking through a dusty graveyard.

A Vulkin and an Astigmatism were walking nearby., one of them was carrying a jar of dust with it. Curious, Sans started walking up to them. _"excuse me, do you guys have a minute?"_

The Astigmatism gave Sans a dirty look, but the Vulkin gently pushed his back. "Keep going, I'll catch up with you, later."

Once the Astigmatism was gone, the Vulkin turned its attention towards Sans.

_"oh, gees..."_ Sans started to rattle, despite trying to control himself. _"i-i'd hate to ask, but what happened, out here?"_

The vulkin began to frown. "Well...earlier today, a skeleton was getting beat up by a dragon."

_"oh god!"_ Sans muttered with a horrified expression. Was Papyrus all right? He didn't die, did he? His thoughts were interrupted when Gaster placed a hand onto his son's head. The taller skeleton looked down at Vulkin, trying to keep a calm demeanor.  "Has that skeleton gotten hurt?"

"Yes he did," the Vulkin replied, "And he would've died if my friend's sister didn't come in and shield him."

"I see..." Gaster gave the vulkin a subtle nod. "Thank you for your time."

Sans followed close behind Gaster, clinging onto the elder skeleton's robe like a child. He had to assume that Sclara was the one who shielded Papyrus. And while it was hard to feel sympathy for a bully, he knew well enough that not even Sclara deserved to die. Still...at the very least, he hoped that Papyrus was all right, and Sclara's shielding hadn't been for nothing.

 

* * *

 

It didn't take long for Gaster to find King Asgore's castle. As they walked inside, Asgore was sitting at the table, his hands were clasped together. He had a troubled look on his face.

"I'm glad you could make it, Wingdings." Asgore said in a low voice. "There was something that I wanted to talk to you about."

(What did you have in mind?), Gaster asked.

"I have quite a few things to talk about," Asgore said before looking down at Sans. "But...I'd rather it be between you and me."

(I understand), Gaster said, looking down at his son. "Comic Sans?"

Sans flinched as he heard his name being called. _"yeah?"_

(Why don't you go spend time with Papyrus? I'm sure that after what happened, he would be delighted to see you).

Sans continued to stare at Gaster, puzzled.

(You may come out here as soon as we're done talking. Do you understand?)

_"yes, sir!"_

"Papyrus is in Asriel's room," Asgore said, "You should be able to find him in there."

Sans nodded in acknowledgement as he headed into Asriel's room. There, he saw Papyrus laying down on his side. He was obviously awake, though his eye sockets were puffy. It looked as though he hasn't slept in weeks.

_"hey, buddy,"_ Sans said as he sat down at the foot of the bed. _"how're ya feelin'?"_

**"I'm fine!"** Papyrus grumbled, causing Sans to flinch. He wasn't sure what to say next, since he didn't know how to handle situations like this. Still, he felt he had to say SOMETHING.

_"a-anyway, i'm sorry about what happened,"_ Sans said, he shrunk back when Papyrus looked at him. The taller skeleton gave him an odd look.

**"What are you apologizing for?"** Papyrus asked, his voice becoming more quiet with each word. **"If anything, I should be the one apologizing."**

_"for what?"_

Papyrus let out a deep sigh. **"I should've been the one who died, not Sclara!"**

_"and why would you say that?"_ Sans asked, concerned.

**"Because she had nothing to do with all this,"** Papyrus replied. **"I didn't think she would save me. I thought that if Ricky became my friend, things would've gotten better. Instead, I just made things worse."**

_"c'mon, bro, you don't have to be like that."_ Sans said sympathetically. _"besides, i probably would've done the same thing sclara did if i'd known that ricky was gonna attack you!"_

Papyrus didn't say anything, he started to look down at his shoes. Sans couldn't help but sigh. _"look, papyrus...none of this was your fault, all right? you just didn't know what was gonna happen."_

Papyrus nodded as Sans wrapped an arm around his brother. _"you've got nothing to apologize for, all right? and besides, if sclara didn't try to save you, then i'm sure ricky would've gone after me, too."_

**"...I suppose you're right,"** Papyrus said as he patted his brother on the head. **"I know you didn't like her, but I appreciate that you're trying to cheer me up...Thank you."**

Sans smiled appreciatively. _"hey, it's the least i can do for you, right now."_

While Papyrus hated to admit it, sometimes it was nice when Sans acted more like a big brother. Especially in serious situations like this. It made him wish Sans acted like this more often.

The skeleton brothers began to hear Asgore speaking. They both peaked out of the room to spy on the older monsters, outside.

(I know he's been bullying my boys for years...but I never thought that he would try to kill either of them).

"It IS rather concerning." Asgore said, stroking his beard. Gaster gave him a worried look. (What do you think we should do?)

"Well...I think the best thing we can do is-"

"Wait," Gaster yelled. His eyes began to turn purple. Sans and Papyrus backed away as the door turned blue and locked itself. Neither brother was able to hear what the monsters outside were saying. To them, it was just muffled noise.

Sans let out a sigh as he sat against the door. He crossed his arms in frustration. _"that's just great, it feels like we're being punished in here!"_

**"Well, I'm sure that they have good intentions for leaving us in here,"** Papyrus replied as he sat down next to Sans. **"And who knows? Maybe Ricky will turn himself in?"**

Sans tilted his head in confusion. _"what makes you say that?"_

**"Because he looked about as upset as I was when he killed Sclara,"** Papyrus replied. **"I'm sure he has SOME good in him, so maybe one day he'll finally choose to do something good."**

_"pap, i..."_ Sans began to frown. He wanted to argue, but now probably wasn't the best time.

**"Is something wrong?"** Papyrus asked. Sans shook his head. _"nah...i forgot what i was gonna say."_

Papyrus had an exhausted look on his face. He began to rub Sans' skull, once again. **"I'm sure he'll change, one day, Sans...And when he does, he'll change for the better."**

_"i hope so,"_ Sans replied, _"i really do."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...fun fact, I imagined a good chunk of this chapter in my head while doing the dishes.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus is alone, once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my best chapter, so bare with me.
> 
> Also...excuse the time skip.

A year has past since then, Papyrus was now 14. Ever since Sclara died, he hasn't seen or heard from Ricky at all...in fact, nobody has. And while Papyrus hoped Ricky was doing OK, he was also happy that he didn't have to worry about being attacked by him, anymore.

Of course...he also had to get used to being alone, again. Often, he found himself cleaning the apartment on his own while Gaster and Sans were at work...Not that he minded, really. Papyrus actually liked cleaning, he often found it relaxing. He just hoped that he would be able to spend some time with his family again, one day.

Papyrus was walking home with a bag of groceries until he heard a nearby dog monster sneezing. The dog wore a white blouse and a light pink poodle skirt. She began sniffing the air before looking at Papyrus.

"Excuse me, Mr. Skeleton?" The dog called out. Papyrus looked around before pointing at himself. **"You mean me?"**

"Of course," the dog replied. "I just need to know where the Spider Bakery is. Can you help?"

**"Oh,"** Papyrus began to smile, gesturing for the dog to follow him. **"It's this way!"**

The dog began to follow Papyrus through New Home. While most monsters lived in the capital, Papyrus has never seen this dog, before. Still...it wouldn't hurt to talk, right? He looked at the dog with a curious expression. **"Um...If it's all right to ask, where did you come from?"**

"We're from Snowdin," the dog replied, "My husband and I haven't been out here in a long time, so we thought we'd spend a few days, here."

**"That sounds nice,"** Papyrus replied, his expression turning bitter. **"Though between you and me, I think it's pretty boring out here."**

"Well...I can understand that," the dog replied, "I'll admit it gets pretty boring having to stay in the same place all the time." She began to wink. "In fact, you could say we're always SNOWED in."

**"Ugh,"** Papyrus placed a hand on his face. **"Honestly, that sounds like something my brother would say!"**

"I take it that you don't like jokes?"

**"No, I like jokes...just not when they're forced!"** Papyrus gave the dog a dirty look. **"Believe me, it's bad enough that my brother thinks he's a comedian half the time."**

"Oh...does he always get on your nerves?"

**"Yes he does,"** Papyrus replied, he began to smile. **"But what can you expect from someone named Comic Sans?"**

The dog chuckled as Papyrus' face began to turn red. **"Actually...forget I said anything!"**

It grew silent for a moment, and Papyrus was willing to change the subject. Without thinking, he asked the first thing on the top of his head. **"So what's it like in Snowdin?"**

"It's very cold," the dog replied. "and you'll mostly find furry monsters over there. Dogs, especially."

**"That sounds...interesting,"** Papyrus replied, shifting uncomfortably. **"They don't eat skeletons over there, do they?"**

The dog shook her head. "Of course not. In fact, we don't even have skeletons in Snowdin."

**"I guess that makes sense,"** Papyrus replied. **"You don't find many of them living outside of New Home to begin with."**

"True..."

Eventually, Papyrus made it over to the spider bakery. He looked up at the dog, once again. **"This is where you wanted to go, right?"**

"Yes it is," the dog said, clasping her hands together. "Thank you, Mr..."

**"It's Papyrus,"** the skeleton replied, shaking the dog's paw. **"And you are?"**

"I'm Dogaressa," she replied, "It was nice meeting you."

Papyrus bowed his head courteously as Dogaressa walked into the Spider Bakery. After finishing his good deed, Papyrus began to head back to his apartment. After all, he couldn't hold onto the groceries forever.

 

* * *

 

As Papyrus returned to his apartment, he wasted no time putting the food away in the kitchen. Once he was finished, he sat down and pulled out his phone. He began to call Sans.

_"hey, bro!"_

**"Hello, Sans. Do you know when you two are coming back?"**

_"um...we'll be back, soon. just-"_

Without warning, an explosion could be heard from the receiver...followed by screaming and yelling. Sans let out a hoarse growl. _"just give us an hour or two. hopefully we'll still be together in one piece."_

**"All right, just be careful over there."**

Sans hung up the phone before any more chaos ensued. Whatever was going on, Papyrus hoped that Sans and Gaster were all right.

Papyrus looked around, the apartment was perfectly clean for now. Not only that, it seemed like Gaster cleaned it before he left. With nothing better to do, Papyrus began to walk towards a nearby book shelf, digging through books until he found a small, black book. Strangely, it didn't seem to have a title on it. When he opened it, however, he quickly realized that it was one of his father's photo albums. It was probably best to put it back...

...But Papyrus looked through it, anyway. He found many pictures of his father. In some of them, he was standing with either Asgore of his Ex-wife (Who he could've sworn was Asgore without his mane...boss monsters were confusing). There were also quite a few pictures where Gaster stood next to another skeleton. This skeleton often wore a long red scarf, which was the same one Papyrus was wearing right now. It was safe to assume that this skeleton was his mother.

Papyrus didn't know too much about his mother, he was told that she died due to Soul Sickness. And because of this, Gaster worried that either of his sons could die the same way. However, Papyrus never worried about it, as he rarely got sick anyway.

As Papyrus looked deeper and deeper into the photo album, he eventually found pictures of himself and his brother as a pair of baby bones. Papyrus chuckled softly, it was hard for him to believe that he and Sans were the same size at one point. Nowadays, people would probably assume that Papyrus was the elder sibling, since his brother still looks somewhat like a child.

Papyrus put the book down as he started to doze off. There wasn't anything else to do in the apartment, so maybe a small nap wouldn't hurt...At least for now, it won't.

 

* * *

 

_"pap, we're home!"_

Sans walked into the doorway, only to be greeted by the sight of his brother sleeping. This was unusual for Papyrus, so he looked over at his dad with concern. _"should we do something?"_

Gaster smiled warmly as he grabbed a blanket from the couch and placed it over his younger son. (I believe it's best that we leave him be, for now).

_"hehe..."_ Sans smiled pathetically as he sat down next to his brother. _"it's gotta be boring without the two of us around, k'know?"_

(I'm sure it is), Gaster signed, (Although...perhaps we should do something nice for him).

_"all right, what'd you have in mind?"_

(Perhaps next weekend I could take him to the lab, I know I used to take the both of you there when you when I didn't have anyone to watch you).

_"you did, huh?"_ Sans asked as he placed a hand over his jaw. _"though i guess after mom died, you didn't have much of a choice, huh?"_

Gaster shook his head. (Regardless, I'm sure Papyrus will get along quite well with my assistants).

Sans shrugged. _"hey, whatever floats your boat!"_

(Well, in the meantime, why don't we try cooking spaghetti?)

_"um..."_ Sans shrunk back into the couch, his pupils disappeared from his eye sockets. _"what do you mean 'we'?"_

(Well...you know how to cook, don't you?)

_"it doesn't mean that i...- HEY!"_

Sans struggled as Gaster lifted him into the air with gravity magic. He waved his arms helplessly as his father took him into the kitchen. _"Come along, Comic Sans!"_

Sans grumbled as he crossed his arms, he gave his father a dirty look. _"ok, fine! but don't expect it to be any good!"_

(I know), Gaster replied as he gently placed Sans back onto the floor. (Just do the best you can).

 

* * *

 

"Papyrus...?"

"Papyrus!"

"Wake up!"

**"...Mm?"** Papyrus slowly opened his eye sockets as Gaster continued to nudge him. He began to stretch, rubbing the back of his neck afterwards. **"How long have I been napping?"**

(Ever since Sans and I came home), Gaster signed as he handed Papyrus a plate of some kind. (Here, your brother made us some dinner).

Papyrus looked down at his plate, noticing that Sans managed to cook some spaghetti. He took his fork off the plate and began to twirl it. Taking a bite, Papyrus thought that it wasn't too bad. The noodles were a little under cooked...but other then that, it tasted all right.

Gaster sat down next to Papyrus, crossing his legs while clasping his hands together. (So, Papyrus...Have you ever felt left out when Sans and I are gone?)

Papyrus couldn't help but nod. **"Yeah, a little bit."**

"Oh..." Gaster mumbled as he gave Papyrus an apologetic look. (I'm so sorry, my child. I should have asked you, sooner!)

**"Dad, it's fine!"** Papyrus said, smiling. **"I know you have a job to do, and you wouldn't want me to ruin it for you."**

(Actually), Gaster signed, (I was going to ask if you'd like to start "hanging out" at the lab with us, next week. You may not be my apprentice, but I'd be happy to spend more time with you, nonetheless!)

**"Are you sure I won't be a distraction?"** Papyrus asked frowning. Gaster chuckled as he lightly nudged his son's skull.  (Of course not, you'll be more then welcome to vcome with me at the lab!)

Papyrus began to smile again as he wrapped his arms around his father's neck. **"I love you!"**

"And I love you...a skele-TON" Gaster said as he smiled widely.

**"DAD, NO!"** Papyrus protested as he scrambled from his father's grip. Gaster laughed as his son got away, which slowly turned into a series of coughs. Nonetheless, he smiled warmly as he patted his son's head.  (Good night, my child).

Gaster started to make his way over to his room, leaving Papyrus by himself. While he may not be Gaster's apprentice like Sans, he was more then happy to spend time with him at the lab.

Papyrus stood up and stretched, making his way over to his bed room. He couldn't wait for next week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp...I'm sure we all know what happens next.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus goes to the Core...again.

As the week had passed, Papyrus had been filled with nothing but enthusiasm. As always, he would clean the apartment, do puzzles, and basically do what he always has been doing before, but he was excited to spend some time with his father.

It was night time, Papyrus was sitting upside-down on the couch. He was playing around with his puzzle cube. While he would normally have an easy time solving it, this time the cube was starting to frustrate him. He was tempted to throw it at something, though he didn't know where to throw it.

Eventually, Sans walked into the door. He sat down next to Papyrus, upside-down. _"so whacha doin'?"_

**"Just playing with the puzzle cube,"** Papyrus said as he handed it over to his brother. **"Here, would you like to try it?"**

Sans shook his head. _"nah, that thing's just gonna leave me...PUZZLED for days!"_

Sans smiled his usual, cheeky grin as Papyrus glared at him. Gaster walked into the room, looking down at his two sons. He had a hand over his mouth, (I...don't think that's how you sit on a couch).

_"we know that,"_ Sans said, bluntly. Gaster tilted his head.  (Then why are you sitting like that?)

**"Because it's fun,"** Papyrus said as he tried turning his head right-side up. **"You should try it!"**

Gaster chuckled nervously. He sat down next to Sans, turning himself upside down. He began to blush as he held his robe down (or up?). Papyrus looked over at his father and smiled. **"See? Isn't this fun?"**

(...Yes, it is), Gaster said, though Sans could tell that his father was lying through his...hands?

(So, Papyrus...are you excited to come with us?)

**"More then anything,"** Papyrus said, happily.

Sans' eye widened, he looked over at Gaster. _"wait, aren't we s'posed to go to the core, first?"_

(Oh, right!) Gaster signed, (Thanks for reminding me!)

**"U-um..."**

Gaster and Sans looked over at Papyrus, the youngest skeleton in the group was rattling, like he had seen a ghost. **"I don't have to go to the Core with you, do I?"**

Gaster shook his head. (Of course not, you can just stay here until we start heading over to the lab. Does that sound good?)

Papyrus nodded. **"Yes it does, thank you."**

Papyrus still remembered when he came to the Core uninvited, where he nearly fell into the white abyss below him. So if Sans and Gaster were heading to the Core, it was probably best if Papyrus just stayed back here. Besides, they'll all have plenty of time to bond at the lab. That was enough to make him happy.

 

* * *

 

It was morning, Papyrus was standing outside of his apartment. His father and brother stood in front of him, Gaster had his hands clasped together, smiling.

**"You're not going to be gone for too long, right?"**

(Of course not), Gaster signed, (We will be back very soon. And if we're not back by at least an hour, then be sure to call us).

Papyrus nodded. **"Don't worry, I will."**

Gaster gently headbutted Papyrus' skull. "Be good, all right?"

Papyrus nodded as Gaster backed away from his son. He looked down at Sans, (Let's go!)

_"all right,"_ Sans said as he started following his father. _"see ya later, bro!"_

**"Good-bye,"** Papyrus said as he waved to his family. The skeleton walked back into his apartment, he picked up the broom and started sweeping the floor. He continued to smile, he wondered what the lab would be like. He wondered if any of Gaster's assistants loved puzzles, or if any of them were like Gaster, himself...

...Actually, that might not be a good thing. Still, he was certain that the lab was a nice place to visit.

Once Papyrus was done sweeping, he headed into the kitchen to do the dishes. He may as well clean up before his family came back.

 

* * *

 

Papyrus was finished cleaning, he sat back down on the couch, looking at the time on his phone. Sans and Gaster left roughly two hours ago, far too long then he'd like. Frowning, Papyrus tried to dial Gaster's phone. He waited patiently, hoping that his father would pick up.

...But nothing happened. He tried to dial Sans' number, tapping his foot impatiently. **"Come on! Come on! Pick up!"**

...But again, nothing happened. Papyrus was starting to worry, he felt a chill running down his spine. He tried dialing Gaster's number, again...but it was useless, he wasn't answering. Papyrus placed a hand over his chest, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. **"It's all right, they said they would be right back. They must have gotten lost in traffic or something!"**

As if on cue, power had gone out. Papyrus looked outside. It wasn't just the apartment building, but all of New Home, no, the entire underground was suffering from a big blackout. He could only assume that something happened at the Core. Papyrus couldn't wait any longer. He grabbed a flashlight and headed out of the apartment. As far as he knew, something must've happened to his father and brother.

 

* * *

 

Papyrus was standing outside of the entrance, he was once again intimidated by the Core's appearance. It had very little light inside, so he dug his flashlight out of his back pocket. As he moved further into the Core, he felt himself tense up. He felt as though someone was watching him, though no matter how many times he looked back, nobody was there. The fear ran deep through his marrow, but he had to be brave, he had to keep going.

Eventually, he came across what was supposed to be a crossroad. He saw that one of the bridges was out. He flashed his light over to the other side, he could see Sans lying against the wall. Papyrus was relieved to find his brother, he began to call out his name. **"Sans?"**

No answer. This time, Papyrus tried to yell. **"SANS!"**

Again, there was no answer...there wasn't even a response. Papyrus began to worry. He could use gravity magic on Sans, but he didn't want to risk losing his brother into the abyss. The best thing he could do for now was to look for another route in order to reach Sans.

Papyrus continued to walk along the dark hallways as his shoes clacked along the floor. The plus side of the Core being turned off was that he didn't have to worry about booby traps. However, he couldn't help but worry about his father. Was he all right? Was he trying to find a way to turn the power back on? Knowing Gaster, he couldn't have left Sans behind without a reason.

Eventually, Papyrus managed to find a control room. Just like the rest of the Core, he could see that everything was turned off. He made his way over to the control panel, he flipped switches and pressed buttons until one of them finally turned on the entire Core. Fortunately, most of the traps were turned off. Unfortunately, Papyrus felt the Core rumble. When he looked outside of the control room, he could see that the layout was completely changed. Not only was it going to be harder to find Gaster, but Papyrus was going to have to look for Sans, again.

He made his way down through a corridor, where he discovered an empty room. Unfortunately for him, Gaster wasn't in here. He quickly left the room, calling his father to see if he would get any response. **"Dad!? DAD! WHERE ARE YOU!?"**

And yet no matter how much Papyrus called for him, he would not answer. He was starting to worry, what if Gaster was lost? Or maybe he was dead?

Papyrus shook his head, now wasn't the time to draw conclusions. He raced through the Core, searching and searching until he found Sans, once again. However, instead of leaning against the wall, he was now laying on his side. Papyrus couldn't see it before, but there was a dent in the wall where Sans was laying. The smaller skeleton also had a fracture forming on the back of his skull. Papyrus panicked. He helped Sans sit against the wall. **"What happened to you?"**

No response. Papyrus placed a glowing green hand on Sans' fracture in an attempt to heal him. While the fracture didn't go away, Sans was able to regain consciousness. He looked dazed, his pupils were more faded then usual.

**"Are you all right, Sans?"**

_"wha-"_ Sans cringed as the pain rushed through his skull. Papyrus looked down at him with concern. Again, he tried to heal the fracture on Sans' skull, but it was too deep, it would have to heal on its own for now.

_"how'd you get out here?"_ Sans asked.

**"Don't worry about it,"** Papyrus replied. **"Have you seen dad, anywhere."**

_"ugh..."_ Sans started rubbing his skull in confusion. _"i can't really think right now, sorry."_

**"Oh dear,"** Papyrus muttered. He gently picked Sans off the ground and started walking. **"How about we take you home for now? You can talk to me once you're feeling better."**

Sans nodded as he held onto Papyrus like a koala. As happy as Papyrus was to find his brother (again), he still worried about Gaster. Was he safe? And how did he lose Sans in the process? He wasn't certain...but for now, he had to take Sans home. Who knows, maybe Gaster was on his way home, too?

 

* * *

 

Shortly after they got home, Papyrus placed Sans onto the couch to let him nap for a bit. Afterwards, he tried countless times to call Gaster. But no matter how many times he's tried, his father wouldn't pick up the phone.

Papyrus furrowed his non-existent eyebrows. He turned his phone off and put it in his back pocket. He looked down at Sans with a worried glance. **"You don't think he's abandoning us, do you?"**

Sans didn't say anything, since he was already asleep. Papyrus smiled warmly as he gently ran his fingers over his brother's skull. Despite the crack, he was doing all right. After all, he's had worse injuries then this.

Suddenly, Sans' phone started to ring. And since he wasn't able to answer, Papyrus had to do it for him. He gently took the phone out from Sans' pocket and started calling. **"Who is this?"**

"U-um...is Sans there?"

**"He is, but he can't come over right now."**

"Why not?"

**"Because he's not feeling well. Plus, we're waiting to see if dad comes home."**

"Wait...you have a dad?"

**"Of course we do,"** Papyrus said in a confused tone. **"He's Dr. Gaster, remember?"**

"Um...what are you talking about?"

**"Wingdings Gaster? The skeleton with a crooked smile and a black robe? Royal scientist of the underground? Does that ring any bells?"**

"U-um...If you could've just said that Sans was sick, you don't need to make things up."

**"BUT I'M NOT MAKING THINGS UP!"**

The phone hung up before Papyrus could say anything else. He sat there with a disgruntled look, placing Sans' phone down on the coffee table. **"Unbelievable!"**

Sans began to stir, he sat up slowly as he rubbed the crack on his skull. He still looked a little dazed from his injury.

**"Are you feeling any better?"** Papyrus asked.

_"it still hurts,"_ Sans replied, _"but other then that, i'm fine."_

**"Well...can you tell me when the last time you saw dad was?"**

Sans began to think, he looked up at the ceiling as he placed a hand on his saw. _"let's see...we were just finished with the core's maintenance...and then the bridge started to collapsed...then dad threw me at the wall...that's all...i can...remember."_ A grim look crept onto Sans' face.

**"Is something wrong?"** Papyrus asked. Sans gave him a blank look, it was like he was trying to process the question. Papyrus scowled as he waved a hand in front of his brother's face. **"SANS!"**

_"wha-?"_

**"Is everything all right, brother?"** Papyrus asked. Sans replied with a nod. _"e-everything's fine, dad's just on vacation right now."_

**"Well that's rude!"** Papyrus yelled angrily, **"Why would he go on vacation and leave us back here!? We were supposed to go to the lab!"**

_"beats me"_ Sans replied with a shrug. He got off the couch and started heading into his room. _"now if you'll excuse me, i'm just gonna take a nap."_

**"But it's not even noon,"** Papyrus complained.

_"doesn't matter, i'm still tired."_

Once Sans left the living room, Papyrus began to think of what he should do next. He didn't know how to cook, but neither did Gaster. He was willing to give it a try...and if worse came to worse, he could just fix it with the fire extinguisher he kept near the sink.

Still...he felt that something was wrong. He knew Gaster wouldn't just abandon them like this, and it was weird for one of his assistants to forget about him. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to ask around...right?

He picked up Sans' phone and started talking to one of Gaster's assistants. **"Hello? is someone there?"**

 

* * *

 

Sans had just woken up, his head was still somewhat in pain thanks to the fracture on his skull. And knowing Papyrus, he must've ran off to grab some spider donuts. The smaller skeleton crawled out of bed and headed out of the room. However, he was shocked to see that Papyrus was sitting on the couch, like he was waiting for him. He looked distressed.

_"h-hey, bro,"_ Sans greeted, _"what's with that look? did i do something wrong?"_

**"Calm down, I'm not mad at you!"** Papyrus replied, his voice was unusually quiet. **"I just wanted to ask you something, that's all."**

Sans smiled nervously, unsure of what Papyrus was going to say. _"w-well, what's up?"_

**"Well, I did some asking around, today, and..."** Papyrus' voice sounded like it was going to crack. **"...Dad's not coming back, is he?"**

Sans looked away, his fingers began clacking together. _"W-why would ask me something like that?"_

**"Sans, answer me!"** Papyrus yelled, **"Is dad REALLY on vacation? Or are you just making things up?"**

_"...hehe...he,"_ Sans shrunk back, like he was scared of what Papyrus might do to him if he said anything. However, as Papyrus walked closer to him, he placed a comforting hand on Sans' shoulder. **"Brother, please...tell me the truth!"**

_"i-i wish i could,"_ Sans replied, _"but...you might not like it."_

**"Sans..."**

_"i'm sorry, bro!"_

Papyrus gave him a sympathetic look. He knelt down to Sans level and hugged him. He wished that Sans would've said something, sooner, he wished that his brother didn't have to lie to him, but he was finally glad he knew the truth. It upset him that Gaster was no longer with them. And since he was gone, Papyrus would have to be the one to take care Sans.

After all, he was the only family he had left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...And it only gets worse from here.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans and Papyrus leave New Home.

Things barely got any better for the brothers as time passed. Papyrus tried looking for a job, but he wasn't able to find anything he liked. Meanwhile, Sans had stopped going to the lab ever since Gaster died. And while Papyrus has encouraged his brother to find a job, Sans wasn't very interested. Because of this, money became scarce, and it was getting harder to buy food.

It was night time, Papyrus heard a knock coming from the front door. He sat up and rubbed his eye sockets for a minute before leaving his room and walking through the living room. When he looked around, he saw that there was a note sitting in front of the door. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to read it, the text was too small for him to read. He walked back to his bedroom and started to shake his brother's shoulders. **"Sans? Are you awake?"**

_"hm?"_ Sans slowly opened his eye sockets, it took him a moment for his pupils to light up. Papyrus handed him the note, he stared at it in confusion.

**"I don't mean to bother you, but this note just showed up at our door,"** Papyrus said, rubbing his hands nervously. **"Do you think you could read it for me?"**

Sans let out a yawn as he turned on the lamp sitting on his night stand. _"sure, hold on."_

As Sans continued to read the note, he began to look more and more worried, like someone was about to punch his non-existent stomach. _"pap...we're being evicted!"_

**"Oh..."** Papyrus began to frown. **"what does that mean?"**

"it means we can't live here, no more!"

Papyrus stared at his brother in pure shock, googly eyes formed in his sockets. **"YOU MEAN THEY'RE GOING TO KICK US OUT!?"**

Sans nodded. _"unless we have 9999g, we'll only have 24 hours to get outta here!"_

**"But where are we gonna live!?"** Papyrus asked as he nervously clutched his head. **"I mean, we're just a couple of teenagers, we can't survive out there on our own!"**

_"well, maybe we can live in waterfall,"_ Sans suggested. Papyrus gave him an odd look. **"But wouldn't be easier if we asked to live with someone else?"**

_"psh...who's gonna want to take us in?"_ Sans asked, bitterly. _"besides...in waterfall, there's a lotta stuff over there that fell from the surface, so i'm sure we can live off of that!"_

**"But what about school?"**

_"forget about school,"_ Sans argued. _"now c'mon...are you with me or not?"_

Papyrus frowned, he wasn't sure if this was a good idea. It was especially hard to hear this from Sans of all people, the same monster who wanted to be the Royal Scientist since childhood. But in a way, he was right. Nobody was going to take them in...except maybe Asgore, but Papyrus would end up feeling bad for mooching off the King. With that being said, Papyrus shook his brother's hand. **"All right, I just hope you know what you're doing."**

_"great,"_ Sans said as he crawled out of bed. _"let's get packing, then."_

**"I'm right behind you,"** Papyrus replied, hoping that he wouldn't regret his decision.

 

* * *

 

The entire day was spent packing up to live in Waterfall. The furniture was too big for them to carry, and the only money that Papyrus and Sans had altogether was 50g. Papyrus made sure to pack up plenty of clothes while Sans made sure to stock up on whatever food they had (though most of the food were snack foods, like pretzels and popato chisps). Both of them made sure to carry at least a couple blankets with them, as well as a few puzzles and books to keep them entertained while they lived there.

Sans was waiting at the door, tapping his foot impatiently. _"c'mon, hurry up!"_

**"I'M GOING! I'M GOING!"**

Papyrus raced out of his room, wrapping his long red scarf around his neck, he was carrying his backpack in his hand. **"You need to have some clothes too, you know!"**

_"whatever, mom,"_ Sans said as he rolled his eyes. He grabbed onto Papyrus' hand and started heading out the door. The younger skeleton looked down at his brother with worry. **"Are you absolutely sure we'll be all right in Waterfall? It CAN be dangerous, you know."**

_"i know it can,"_ Sans replied, _"so just stick with me and you'll be fine!"_

Papyrus nodded, feeling slightly better. He looked back at their old apartment, hoping that living in Waterfall would be worth it, somehow.

Once the skeletons left New Home, they found themselves taking the elevator to Hotland. Papyrus looked around, keeping a hand in his pocket. He began to hum softly as the elevator continued to move upwards.

Suddenly, Papyrus felt his brother laying against him, he looked nauseated. The younger twin sighed as he rubbed his brother's skull. **"Let me guess, is it motion sickness?"**

Sans nodded, as it looked like he could fall over any minute, now. Papyrus groaned as he picked Sans off the ground. **"Honestly, we should've gotten you some medicine before we left."**

_"well it's not like we're coming back here, anyways, so what's the point?"_

**"I guess that's true,"** Papyrus replied. **"Maybe you should just focus on one of the buttons, see if that helps."**

Sans did as he was told and stared at one of the elevator buttons. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), he fell asleep before the elevator stopped. Papyrus let out a sigh before he stepped out of the elevator. **"Let's go, lazy bones!"**

He started heading west. He knew there was another elevator nearby, one that could make their trip to Hotland much quicker. And since Sans was asleep, he wouldn't have to worry about getting sick so easily. But as soon as Papyrus walked up the elevator, he saw two monsters wearing blue suits were trying to fix it. It had a sign on the front that said "OUT OF ORDER".

"Sorry, kid," Said one of the monsters, "You'll have to use the other one!"

Papyrus huffed in annoyance, he made his way to the eastern part of Hotland where most of the spiders were known to live. He walked quietly through the spiders' nest, which had a lot of webbing below the ground. There were also plenty of cobwebs sitting along the ceiling. Looking around, it seemed like the spiders were busy with the bake sale, today.

Once Papyrus left the Spiders' Nest, he was greeted with an unpleasant sight. There were vents sitting on top of different platforms, which helped cool down the Core by releasing steam. Unfortunately, it was the only way to get to the elevator.

Summoning his blue magic, Papyrus released Sans and allowed him to float in the air. He knew if he carried Sans while hopping over the platforms, they could both end up falling down into the lava below them. He stepped back a bit, he felt sweat form on top of his skull. Summoning his courage, he managed to jump to the second platform, and then the third platform, then the fourth, and then the fifth. And of course, while jumping, Papyrus made sure that Sans was floating right behind him. As he made it to the other side, he snapped his fingers to let Sans go, allowing him to drop back into Papyrus' arms. Not surprisingly, he was still asleep. Not even an earthquake couldn't wake him up.

Papyrus continued to walk forward until he came across the bake sale. There, he saw two spider monsters standing behind the counter. One of them was a child, wearing a frilly striped dress. The other one was wearing a long pink dress, she was holding an umbrella in one of her hands.

"Hello, dearie," the older spider greeted, "Would you like to buy a spider donut? All profits go to real spiders!"

**"Oh, um..."** Papyrus shifted nervously, **"I-I really shouldn't-"**

"So you're not going to by anything?" Asked the younger spider in disappointment. The older spider placed a hand on her shoulder. "Please be patient, Muffet. Let the young man decide for himself!"

Papyrus looked down at the sign sitting on the counter, eyes widened as he saw how expensive the donuts were. Spider Donuts back in New Home costed 7g per donut. However, the donuts here costed about as much as their apartment did.

**"I'm sorry, I can't buy anything,"** Papyrus said as he used his free hand to grab 25g and place it onto the counter. **"But I''ll still donate half of my money if it'll help the spiders."**

"Of course," The spider said warmly, "every little bit counts!"

Papyrus bid farewell to the two spiders and started heading over to the elevator. He wasn't very good when it came to handling money, so he hoped that Sans wouldn't think too badly of it.

 

* * *

 

As Papyrus finally made his way to the southern region of Hotland. he was able to walk past his father's lab...or rather, it USED to be his father's. He heard rumors that Asgore was trying to pick the next royal scientist, so whoever it is, Papyrus could only wish them luck on their new job.

He walked further south, where the river was supposed to be. Unfortunately, Mono didn't seem to be around. Perhaps they were having lunch? Or maybe they were taking a nap? He had to admit, Mono was a bit of an odd skeleton.

Speaking of which, Papyrus felt Sans shift in his arms. The smaller skeleton opened his eye sockets, he looked over at the river. _"oh hey, what happened to the river person?"_

**"I don't know,"** Papyrus said as he placed Sans down. **"But what do you think we should do, now?"**

_"well, we can just cross the bridge since it ain't that far from here,"_ Sans said as he grabbed Papyrus' hand.

**"All right, then,"** Papyrus replied. **"How much longer do you think we'll be walking, anyway."**

_"hopefully not long,"_ Sans replied, _"though it might take an entire day at the most."_

**"All right, I was just curious."**

Papyrus frowned. He just hoped that Sans can find a good enough home to live in.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans and Papyrus finally move to Waterfall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow...15 chapters, I didn't think this fanfic would be this long.

The skeleton brothers crossed the bridge to Waterfall, noticing how quickly the scenery had changed. The bright orange dirt below them was slowly turning into a soft blue color, the cavern was turning darker as they got further and further away from the magma. Eventually, they walked past a bright, colorful sign which said "WELCOME TO HOTLAND". Papyrus looked down at Sans with wide eye sockets. **"Does this mean that we're finally in Waterfall?"**

Sans replied with a nod. _"yep, we're here!"_

**"Oh, wow~!"** Papyrus said, happily. He quickly clasped his hands together, thinking of all the fun things they would be able to do. **"Maybe later, we can play with the echo flowers, or make a wish in the wishing room, or-"**

_"slow down, papyrus!"_ Sans said as he pulled at his brother's arm. _"first, we gotta find a place to set up camp."_

**"Oh, right,"** Papyrus rubbed the back of his head, smiling sheepishly. **"What do you have in mind?"**

_"well, i hear that some monsters like to live in smaller caves, so maybe we can find one if we go further."_

**"As long as it's not too small, then it should be fine,"** Papyrus said, impatiently.

The skeletons have been walking for a while now, Papyrus was slowly taking in the different sites. The stones on the ceiling shined as brightly as he remembered, the echo flowers surrounding them babbled back and forth to each other, as if they were having conversations with each other. Papyrus' thoughts were interrupted as his brother stop walking. Papyrus gave Sans a look of concern. **"What's wrong?"**

_"did you hear something?"_

**"No..."** Papyrus raised a non-existent eyebrow. **"Why do you ask?"**

_"listen,"_ Sans said, quietly, _"i think i hear metal."_

Papyrus listened closely. And as he listened, he could hear the sound of metal clashing against the ground. From what he could guess, a guardsman (or a guardswoman) could be nearby. Papyrus was filled with curiosity, he started walking through the field of Echo Flowers. Sans felt himself panic as he followed closely behind. _"papyrus, what are you doing?"_

**"I just want to look at something, real quick!"** Papyrus whispered. As he expected, he stumbled upon a guardswoman holding a boulder in the air, it looked as though she were looking for something. Since she was wearing armor, it was hard to tell what kind of monster she was. However, Papyrus noticed the monster had a long, red ponytail coming out of her armor.

**"Excuse me,"** Papyrus said before the monster turned her head, dropping the boulder and throwing spear at the skeleton. Papyrus yelped as he ducked before the spear hit. As it flew, it nearly touched Sans' skull.

"You thought you could attack me?" asked the guardwoman in an aggressive tone "Well, I'm not gonna-"

The guardswoman stopped what she was doing at she looked at the two skeletons. She could see how terrified they both looked.

"Sorry," the guardswoman said as she walked closer to the skeletons. "I thought you two were someone else, though you should've known better then to sneak up on someone like me."

_"well gees, lady...you almost killed me!"_

**"Sans, please!"** Papyrus said as he covered his brother's mouth. **"I'm sorry. My brother is frail, so he can't handle attacks very well."**

_"i can still talk, y'know!"_

**"Well could you stop talking for one second!?"**

_"time's up!"_

The guardswoman let out a chuckle. "OK...I see that you two are DEFINITELY not the guy I'm looking for."

**"So you're NOT looking for humans?"** Papyrus asked.

"Believe me...If I was, then one of the sentries would've said something!"

**"Anyways, I believe that we got off on the wrong foot,"** Papyrus replied. **"I'm Papyrus, and this,"** he placed a hand on his brother's skull, **"is my brother, Sans."**

_"s'up!"_

"Nice names," the guardswoman replied, though Papyrus couldn't tell if she was being sincere or not. Nonetheless, she shook Papyrus' hand. "My name's Undyne, if you're curious."

Upon hearing that name, Papyrus' eye sockets sparkled in admiration. **"You're Undyne? As in THE Captain Undyne?"**

"Well...yeah," Undyne replied, "It's me, all right."

**"Oh, wow,"** Papyrus placed his hand on his cheekbones as he started to blush. **"I can't believe I get to meet the captain of the Royal Guard, I never thought this day would come~!"**

"Um...Is he OK?" Undyne asked. Despite wearing a helmet, Sans could tell that she was frowning.

_"don't worry about it,"_ Sans replied, _"it's just that my brother always wanted to be a royal guardsman since he was a baby bones."_

"Right, well...you mind telling me what you two are doing here?" Undyne asked. Papyrus snapped out of his thoughts and gave Undyne a confused look. **"Why do you ask?"**

"I'm just curious," Undyne replied. "I don't see too many skeletons outside of New Home, that's all."

What was Papyrus going to say? He couldn't just tell Undyne that they just got kicked out of their home, could he? He looked down at Sans, hoping that he would be able to help him.

_"we're camping,"_ Sans replied. _"the city felt too cramped, so we thought we'd step out for a bit."_

"Huh...I guess that makes sense," Undyne replied. "Still...if you see anything suspicious, please let me know, all right?"

Sans nodded in response. _"yes, ma'am!"_

"Good, I'll catch ya later!" Undyne said as she finally marched off. Papyrus looked down at Sans and started to whisper, **"Why did you lie to her?"**

_"technically, i wasn't lying!"_ Sans replied. _"in a way, we're just goin' on a permanent camping trip."_

**"Well, I suppose you got me there,"** Papyrus replied. **"I just hope you know what you're doing."**

Sans nodded as he started walking ahead. Papyrus followed closely behind him as they headed deeper into Waterfall.

 

* * *

 

As the skeletons walked further, they noticed that the glowing stones were becoming less and less abundant. It was getting darker and darker until the only things that was visible were Sans' pupils and the dim, purple crystals lining the walls. It was hard to tell where to go.

**"What do we do, now?"** Papyrus asked, helplessly.

_"try touching the walls,"_ Sans replied, his left eye started to glow as his right pupil vanished. _"and make sure you can see me, ok?"_

**"But what if you can't see me?"** Papyrus argued.

_"then try glowing your eyes!"_ Sans suggested, as though it were obvious. It was silent for a moment. Sans looked up as Papyrus' eye sockets gave off an orange glow. The duo walked forwards, they occasionally looking back at each other so they wouldn't get lost. While the crystals did help guide them, they didn't give off much of a light. Still, the soft purple glow they gave off felt comforting. It felt as though Gaster was watching over them. It was like he was guiding them through the caves to find a new home.

Eventually, there were no more crystals to be found. Instead, they were greeted with the sight of glowing mushrooms. They formed some sort of path, leading to a small cave entrance. Sans looked up at Papyrus, his eye disappeared as his pupils returned to his eye sockets. _"what do you think? should we set up camp in there?"_

**"Of course,"** Papyrus said as his eye sockets stopped glowing, **"I'm sure we'll be able to live there for now."**

The skeletons began to follow the path, making their way into the cave. However, when they entered the cave, they found several cat-like monsters staring at them. Sans chuckled nervously as he scratched where his ear should be. _"well, this is awkward..."_

"hOI!" said one of the monsters, "i'm tEMMIE!"

Papyrus sat down and began shaking the Temmie's hand. **"It's very nice to meet you, Temmie!"**

The Temmies began to surround Papyrus, looking up at him with sheer curiosity. It was like he was surrounded by a group of school children that admired his greatness.

"are yo a selketon?

"Can tEM pet teh cYUTe skullton?"

"Awawawawa! Tem want 2 pet him furst!11!"

**"Wowie,"** Papyrus began to blush, **"they really seem to like me, Sans!"**

_"i can see that,"_ Sans said, smiling. He began to look around. Although the cave was roomy enough to stay in, he figured the Temmies wouldn't be too happy if they stayed here for too long (that and Temmies were hard to understand at times). Looking around, Sans found another cave entrance. On the sign, they called it the "tem shop". Sans looked over at his brother. _"hey, papyrus?"_

**"Yes, brother?"**

_"would you mind staying out here while i talk with the shop keeper?"_

Papyrus shook his head as he allowed one of the Temmies to sit on his lap. **"No, not at all!"**

Sans began to make his way into the shop. When he walked inside, he saw a lone Temmie sitting in front of a cardboard box. Behind her were different kinds of junk, most of which Sans assumed that she dug up from a trash can.

"hOI," the Temmie said in an upbeat tone, "wELCOME to da TEM SHOP!"

_"hey,"_ Sans said as he walked closer to the Temmie, placing his arms on the cardboard box. _"if you don't mind me askin', do you know about any caves that my brother and i could live in?"_

"oOh!" the Temmie jumped excitedly, "i no wHer 2 find DA caves!"

Sans gave Temmie a patient smile. _"great, can you tell me where they are?"_

Temmie looked around, as if to make sure nobody was around. She moved closer to Sans, whispering in his non-existent ear. "There's a place in Waterfall that rains all the time. There are plenty of caves over there, so you should be able to find something."

Sans smiled widely, reaching into his pocket and giving the Temmie 2g. _"thanks for helpin' me out, here's a tip!"_

"uR welcomb," Temmie said happily. "pls COmE agane!"

Sans started walking out of the Tem Shop, at least now he knew what he was going to be looking for. He walked over to Papyrus and placed a hand on his shoulder. _"c'mon, we gotta go."_

**"Already?"** Papyrus asked in disappointment, **"But they're so cute!"**

_"you can hang out with them, later,"_ Sans replied, _"now c'mon, we gotta go!"_

Papyrus nodded in disappointment as he stood up. He looked down at the Temmies. **"I have to go, now."**

"OK," One of the Temmies said. Another one began to wave at him. "bOI!"

With that out of the way, Papyrus began to follow Sans through Waterfall once again.

 

* * *

 

As the skeletons moved forward, they would often ask other monsters where the caves were. While they did get lost quite a few times, they eventually came across an area full of bridges. The bridges were like an intersection in Waterfall, taking them to different areas in the Underground. Papyrus was looking below the bridges, he could see a lot of trash from the surface. He also saw a few houses, though it was safe to assume that they were all occupied. His thoughts were interrupted as he felt his twin tugging at his scarf.

_"careful, pap,"_ Sans warned him, _"don't want you to fall and crack your skull."_

**"I'm not going to crack my skull!"** Papyrus grumbled as he crossed his arms.

_"well, you still have to be careful."_

**"Yes, I know,"** Papyrus grumbled. The skeletons eventually started to hear rain in the next room. As they moved forward, they saw actual water droplets falling from the ceiling. They stared at the rain with wide eye sockets, they have never seen such a thing in New Home nor Hotland, so this was a new experience for them. Perhaps the humans have this type of beautiful weather on the surface? And if so, why did they hog it for themselves?

Papyrus looked around, he saw someone had left a bucket of umbrellas in the rain. There was a sign right next to it, although it was unreadable due to the ink smearing on the sign. Sans walked over to the bucket to grab an umbrella, and Papyrus...tried to grab the entire bucket, he tried to shove the umbrellas in his pockets. The smaller skeleton couldn't help but laugh. _"bro, whaddaya doin'?"_

**"I'm just taking a few more umbrellas just in case,"** Papyrus said as he kept trying to put them into his pockets. The skeleton panicked as the umbrellas opened on him, releasing a loud **"NYEH"** as he fell to the floor. Sans walked over to Papyrus, handing over his umbrella while he put the rest of them back...save for one.

_"there's only two of us, papyrus,"_ Sans said as he opened his umbrella, _"so don't worry about grabbing any more, ok?"_

**"...All right, Sans,"** Papyrus said as he stood up, holding his umbrella over his shoulder.

As they walked, Papyrus looked over at where a giant chasm stood. He could see New Home in the distance. Where he stood, the buildings looked tiny. The only building he could make out was Asgore's castle, which was the biggest building in New Home.

_"papyrus?"_

Papyrus quickly snapped out of his thoughts. He looked down at Sans, who was giving him a worried look.

**"Sorry,"** Papyrus said as he shook his head. **"I must've been daydreaming!"**

Still...To Papyrus, this felt weird. As a kid, he would've LOVED to move out of New Home, so why did he feel so differently about this? Maybe he was feeling homesick, despite not having a home, anymore. Whatever it was, he hoped this feeling wouldn't stay for too long.

 

* * *

 

The skeletons continued to walk along the rainy section of Waterfall, keeping an eye out for any caves they could live in. The first cave they found was too small for both of them to fit in, the second cave was even smaller then that. Upon finding the third cave, they found that it was roughly the same size as their room back in New Home...minus the furniture.

_"so what do you think?"_ Sans asked as he looked up at Papyrus, _"should we stay here?"_

**"Hm..."** Papyrus became deep in thought. Sure, this place didn't look as nice and welcoming as their old apartment was, but that was to be expected, since it was literally just a cave. He put his backpack down next to a small boulder. After that, he pulled his blanket out and started laying it across the ground. **"It's not exactly what I'd call 'home', but I'm sure we'll get used to it."**

_"great, then i guess we're done for the day,"_ Sans said as he took his shoes off and placed them next to the boulder. Still, he had a look of uncertainty on his face, like he still didn't belong here. Picking up on his brother's emotions, Papyrus sat down and patted the ground next to him. **"Why don't you take off your backpack and sit next to me for a bit?"**

Sans nodded as he took off his backpack and placed it next to his shoes. He walked over to Papyrus and sat down next to him. The taller skeleton was at a loss, what was he supposed to say. now?

_"y'know, i'm glad we got outta there!"_

Papyrus was caught off guard as he heard his brother talk. **"What do you mean? Didn't you like New Home?"**

_"of course i did,"_ Sans replied, _"i just..."_ The small skeleton sighed as he buried his face into his knees. _"after what happened at the core, i just didn't want to STAY there."_

**"I see, so you think that moving out would help you get over Dad's death?"**

_"sort of,"_ Sans replied, _"once dad died, i just sort of felt like we didn't BELONG there, y'know? and besides, who's gonna miss us?"_

**"Well, King Asgore would notice, pretty quickly."**

_"he doesn't even remember who dad is, what makes you think he'll give a damn about us?"_

Papyrus frowned, he wrapped an arm around Sans in an attempt to comfort him. **"Well...I know things are looking bad for us, but I'm sure things will get better. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday it WILL get better."**

_"heh..."_ Sans let out a yawn as he curled up next to his brother. _"yeah...maybe someday."_

Papyrus smiled as he looked down at his brother, who was already starting to nod off. He playfully squeezed his shoulder. **"What? You're not even going to read me a story?"**

_"not tonight,"_ Sans replied, _"i'm too tired."_

Papyrus nodded as he laid Sans down on the makeshift bed. Afterwards, he pulled another blanket out from his backpack and laid it over themselves. He quietly curled up next to Sans before the both of them eventually fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeesh, this chapter is long!
> 
> ...But hey, I'm not complaining.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus visits the wishing room, then he runs into a dog.

Papyrus woke up, feeling disoriented. Instead of waking up back in his comfy bed like he expected, he remembered that he was living in a cave somewhere in Waterfall. He looked down at Sans, who was still sleeping like a baby bones. For some reason, he was clinging onto Papyrus' arm.

Papyrus gently pulled his arm away, trying his best not to wake his brother. He began to stretch, his bones felt stiff from sleeping on the ground. This cave looked nothing like a home, he knew that much...but perhaps there was a way for him to improvise? He walked over to his backpack, his bony feet were clacking against the cold, hard ground. He pulled out a flash light and placed it in the corner of the cave, turning it on. While the flash light didn't make for a good lamp, it would have to do. Afterwards, he pulled out some books from his back pack and placed them onto a flat rock near their makeshift bed, It would make for a perfect night stand. Still, he couldn't help but frown, there wasn't anything else he could use to create furniture. He looked into Sans' bag and grabbed a bag of small cookies. He looked out at the rain, pulling out several small cookies and tossing them into his jaw. At least the rain was still nice to look at.

Half an our had passed, Sans began to stir a bit before sitting up. He let out a yawn as he began to stretch.

**"Good morning, Lazy Bones,"** Papyrus greeted. Sans looked around, his eye sockets were barely opened. The first thing he saw was the flashlight in the corner.

**"Oh yeah,"** Papyrus said, **"I thought the cave seemed a bit empty, so I tried to decorate it a bit."**

_"...hmm..."_ Sans walked over to Papyrus, he sat down next to his brother. _"to be fair, i probably would've done the same thing."_

Papyrus nodded as he looked down, forlorn. The idea that this was his new home didn't really settle with him. He felt a small arm wrap around his back. He looked down at Sans, who was giving him an encouraging look. _"how 'bout we go look for the wishing room?"_

**"Oh, how could I forget!?"** Papyrus asked as his hand collided with his face. **"It's where we made that wish back when we were kids!"**

_"yeah, it is,"_ Sans said, as his smile started to falter. The brothers sat there in awkward silence as they remembered what their wish was. Had Gaster not fall into the Core, and had Sans and Papyrus not say anything out loud at the time, then their wish probably would've come true.

**"Well..."** Papyrus looked down at his brother, breaking the silence, **"how about we make a new wish? It might actually come true, this time!"**

_"are you sure?"_ Sans asked. _"wishes usually don't work."_

**"Of course they'll work,"** Papyrus argued, **"We just need to make sure that we don't say anything, this time!"**

Sans was about to say something bitter, but he held his non-existent tongue and shrugged. _"you know what? believe whatever you want. i just wanna see the stones, again!"_

**"Then what are we waiting for?"** Papyrus asked excitedly, **"Let's go see them!"**

Papyrus grabbed his umbrella, he waited for Sans to do the same thing before heading over to the Wishing Room. If it was anything that made Waterfall beautiful, it was the sparkling stones on the ceilings. And the Wishing Room was FULL of those sparkling stones. It was worth visiting at least once.

 

* * *

 

Once the skeletons made it out of the rain, they returned the umbrellas to another bucket. They continued to move along, running into a few friendly monsters along the way, which included an onion monster, a pair of fish sisters, and a seahorse (literally a horse with a fish tail). However, While the skeletons continued to walk, they saw something running at them from a distance.

"Arf! Arf!"

A small, white dog ran by the two skeletons, carrying what looked like a piece of cloth in its mouth. Shortly after that, a training dummy floated by them, knocking Papyrus to the ground. "YOU GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE-"

_"sheesh, what's that guy's problem?"_ Sans asked as he looked at the dummy float by. He looked down at Papyrus and knelt down to his level. _"are you ok?"_

**"I'm fine,"** Papyrus said as he scrambled to sit up. **"But was that a training dummy that knocked me down, just now?"**

"Excuse me, darling!"

A pair of ghosts floated by them, going after the strange dummy. Papyrus and Sans looked at each other awkwardly, then back at the direction the ghosts ran.

_"so...that happened."_

Papyrus stood up, he dusted his clothes. **"Well, I'd rather it be me then you. Now let's go find the wishing room!"**

Sans nodded as he started walking by Papyrus. If they remembered correctly, the Wishing Room shouldn't be that far off. As strange as that scene was, they hoped the dog and the dummy were all right.

They finally arrived at the wishing room was as beautiful as the skeletons remembered, with the rocks shining brilliantly along the walls and on the ceilings. However they noticed that it was a little different from what they remembered when they were kids. Echo Flowers were starting to bloom and there was a lone telescope sitting at a corner. Despite this, it was the same room they made their wish in 6 years ago.

Sans started to examine the flowers, wondering if they had anything interesting to say. The Echo Flowers began to talk to him, as though they were recordings sitting inside someone's cell phone.

"I wish I could go home!"

"I wish I could have a gorgeous body, one that could make me feel like myself!"

"tEM wish 2 pet cyoot hoomans!11!"

"...I wish I could see the surface."

Papyrus placed a hand on Sans' shoulder, **"Maybe we shouldn't listen to other people's wishes. They might not come true, you know!"**

_"hey, it's not like we know who any of these people are,"_ Sans argued, _"so it should be fine!"_

"...it should be fine!"

Papyrus snickered as the echo flower mimicked Sans. The smaller skeleton glared at the flower. _"excuse me, was i talking to you?"_

"...was i talking to you?"

At this point, Papyrus was trying to contain himself. He didn't want the flowers to repeatedly laugh back at him. Sans moved on to the next flower, hoping to find something even more interesting. However, this flower gave Sans and Papyrus an unsettling chill that ran through their spines like an electric current.

"...I wish I had my best friend, back!"

Sans back away from the flower, looking up at Papyrus with complete shock. _"...y-you don't suppose that was who i think it was?"_

**"You mean Ricky?"** Papyrus replied. **"Because if it is, then...well...I honestly don't know what to do about it."**

_"well, maybe he's not even here,"_ Sans replied, _"maybe he's in hotland, or-"_

**"What if he tries to kill us?"** Papyrus asked, a horrifying thought crossing his mind. **"Oh my god, Sans! We HAVE to go back, or he'll kill us faster then you can say-!"**

_"papyrus, calm down!"_ Sans yelled. _"neither of us are going back, all right? we're perfectly fine with where we are."_

**"But what if Ricky finds us!?"** Papyrus argued.

_"then we'll go find undyne, simple as that!"_

**"But what if she CAN'T help us,"** Papyrus argued, **"what if she's busy with something else!?"**

Sans let out a deep sigh. He started rubbing his face, fighting the urge to call his brother something he'd regret later on. _"how 'bout we just go back to the cave for a bit?"_

**"Are you sure?"** Papyrus asked, **"You haven't made any wishes, yet!"**

_"i've said it myself, i don't believe in wishes,"_ Sans said quietly, _"now come on,i think we should just go home for a bit."_

Papyrus nodded in understanding as he picked Sans off the ground. Before he left the wishing room, he couldn't help but make at least one small wish.

**"...I wish we could find a safe place to live."**

 

* * *

 

Papyrus was walking along a quiet area in Waterfall, where the water glowed like the stones above them. Sans was already asleep in his arms, he was sleeping ever since they left the Wishing Room. He wasn't much for arguments, and Papyrus could tell that his brother was still annoyed with him. But he'll get over it like he always does.

He continued moving forward until he saw a familiar, white dog sitting in front of him. He was chewing on a piece of cloth.

**"Oh, hello,"** Papyrus said happily. **"Aren't you the dog from earlier?"**

The dog looked up at him and started barking, he patted the ground excitedly, like he wanted to play.

**"Well...It's a good thing we skeletons can create bones out of magic!"** Papyrus said as he summoned a bone with his free hand, throwing across the room with gravity magic. The dog dropped the cloth and ran as fast as his feet could carry him, taking the bone into his mouth and running back to Papyrus. He sat there wagging his tail, expecting to be pet.

**"You're awfully playful, aren't you!"** Papyrus said as he slowly knelt down and started petting the dog, all while being careful not to drop Sans. Suddenly, the dog started to sniff the air, Papyrus looked at it with concern. **"What is it? Is something wrong?"**

The dog let out a small growl, it ran behind Papyrus and started barking at a tree. Papyrus looked down at the dog in confusion. **"What's wrong with it, it's just a-"**

Papyrus stopped mid-sentence as he noticed a long orange tail sticking out of the tree. He felt butterflies forming in his non-existent stomach. He held tightly onto Sans and began to run. Hopefully, the dog was all right by itself. Still...Ricky couldn't be here, could he? Why would he want to live in Waterfall, of all places when most dragons preferred Hotland? His train of thought stopped as he bumped into Undyne, he could tell the armor-clad monster was glaring at him.

"Watch where you're going, punk!" Undyne yelled, "You could've hurt someone!"

**"I'm sorry,"** Papyrus replied, **"It's just that I thought I saw someone back there, and-"**

"Really?" Undyne asked excitedly. "What did you see?"

**"W-well, I saw someone hiding behind a tree, back there. They had an orange tail, but that's all I-"**

"NGAAAAAHHHH!" Undyne quickly summoned a spear in her hand and started running. "I'VE GOT YOU NOW, PUNK!"

Papyrus watched as the royal guardswoman ran back to where the tree was. Maybe she was going after Ricky? He didn't know what type of monster Undyne was, but whatever she was, he was sure that she could handle a dragon on her own. After all, this was the same woman who can lift a boulder off the ground without any problems.

He started walking back to the cave. He looked down at Sans, the smaller skeleton hadn't moved at all. Not that Papyrus was worried. He was used to this, after all.

Once he came back to the rainy area, he carried Sans into the cave and placed him down on the makeshift bed. He thought it was best to leave him here for now. Without anything else to do, it wouldn't hurt to go through Waterfall on his own...would it?

Papyrus began to walk through the rainy area, holding his hand out from under the umbrella as the drops of rain made contact with his bony fingers. The rain felt as nice as it sounded. In a way, it was like a big shower. Still...as much as he liked Waterfall, it still didn't feel like home. As pretty as it was, it was much more suitable for slimes and fish monsters, not skeletons. The only reason he was here now was because of Sans.

...But he couldn't just leave his brother, that would be cruel. As stubborn as his brother was, it wouldn't hurt to persuade him into going back to New Home, would it?

Suddenly, Papyrus felt something grab onto his scarf. But before he could see what was going on, he saw the white dog running off with the scarf. It was the same white dog from before.

**"HEY!"** Papyrus yelled as he chased the dog. **"GIVE THAT BACK!"**

The dog barked in a playful, yet mocking tone. It ran and ran until it escaped into a small cave, where Papyrus wasn't able to catch it. The skeleton pounded the walls with his fists, eyeballs formed in his eye sockets. **"YOU GIVE THAT SCARF BACK, THIS INSTANT!"**

Again, the dog just barked.

**"Fine!"** Papyrus grumbled, pulling his left arm off, **"I'll get it, myself!"**

He knelt down to the small cave entrance, putting his left arm inside to grab his scarf. He managed to touch something fuzzy, but his arm was quickly yanked away from him. Papyrus sat there with an irritated expression as the dog escaped through the cave.

"You OK, Papyrus?"

The skeleton turned his head to see Undyne, she had her hands on her hips. He could tell that she was concerned, despite wearing a helmet.

**"Well...I WOULD be OK if that dog didn't take off with my scarf!"** Papyrus grumbled. Undyne placed a supportive hand onto on his back. "Hey...if it'll make ya feel any better, then I'll try to keep an eye out for that dog."

**"Thank you,"** Papyrus replied. **"Do you think you'll be able to get my arm back, too?"**

"Of course," Undyne replied. "I know I'd be pretty upset, too if some dog took off with MY arm."

Papyrus began to walk back to the cave, Undyne was walking besides him. He assumed it was to keep any other thieves away from him.

**"So...have you caught whoever it was that you're looking for?"**

Undyne shook her head. "No, he got away before I could do anything."

**"Well that sounds disappointing,"** Papyrus said with a deep sigh.

"It is, but I'm sure I'll get him next time," Undyne said, happily. "Besides, he can't keep running, forever!"

**"Well, I suppose that's true,"** Papyrus replied. **"What did he do, anyway."**

"Well...I wasn't there when it happened...but a year ago, he tried to murder a skeleton back in New Home."

**"Oh..."**

"Yeah...although apparently, he ended up killing an Astigmatism, who was a friend of the skeleton's." Undyne let out a sigh in despair. "It's tragic, really."

Undyne turned her head, she noticed how uncomfortable Papyrus looked. He was shaking like a leaf. "What's wrong?"

**"Hm?"** Papyrus looked over at Undyne, grabbing onto his loose sleeve. **"I-it's nothing."**

"Are you sure?"

Papyrus nodded in response.

"Well...If that guy comes anywhere NEAR you, then I'll beat him up for you. Does that sound good?"

**"W-well-"**

"Good! In the meantime, I'll keep an eye out for him!" The armed monster said enthusiastically. "And, um...I'm sorry for your friend!"

Undyne ran off before Papyrus could say anything. He had to admit, despite her shortcomings, Undyne was a lot nicer to him then he initially thought. He would've imagined that she was much more stern, but that didn't change the fact that she was a tough monster. He'd hope that one day, he would become as tough as her. Maybe then, he could work up the courage to become a Royal Guardsman, himself.

Papyrus walked back into the cave. There, he saw Sans eating a bag of popato chisps with a bored expression. He was about to speak when he noticed his brother was missing his scarf. _"what happened?"_

**"A dog took my scarf,"** Papyrus replied.

_"...ok"_ Sans gave Papyrus an odd look, he walked over to the younger skeleton and pulled at his sleeve. _"did they take your arm, too?"_

Papyrus nodded, he sat down and let out a deep sigh. **"Today didn't really go as well as I thought it would."**

_"well, we all have our bad days, don't we?"_

**"We do, but they're never THIS bad."**

Sans gave Papyrus a sympathetic look, he sat down next to his brother. _"if you want, we can try to look for your scarf."_

**"Thanks, but unfortunately...I have no idea where it is. Undyne said she would get it back for me, so I'm not sure."**

_"well she's the captain, ain't she?"_

**"That is true,"** Papyrus replied. **And hopefully she can give it back to me, soon."**

As silly as it sounded, Papyrus was very attached to his scarf. Partially because it was all that was left of his mother, but mostly because he didn't feel safe without it.

_"hey, papyrus?"_

Papyrus looked down at his brother. **"Yes, Sans?"**

_"i know it's early, but do you wanna call it a day?"_

He didn't really want to, he would much rather read a book or play with his puzzle cube...but since there wasn't much light, and since his arm was still missing, there really wasn't anything else that he could do. **"We may as well, brother!"**

Papyrus laid down and curled up onto the makeshift bed. As distracting as a missing arm was, it was best to just suck it up and go to sleep. After all, the faster the day ended, the better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't looking too good, are they?
> 
> And believe me, it'll only get worse!


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The skelebros start looking for food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, I suppose I could put this one up now.
> 
> ...And I apologize in advance.

A few more days have passed, it was early in the morning. Sans woke up with a slight pain in his chest. He pulled out his soul and noticed that it had gotten dull. He didn't know what it meant, but he knew it couldn't have been good. Either way, he thought it wasn't worth getting worried over. He placed his soul back into his chest and crawled out of the makeshift bed. He made his way over to his backpack and dug around, trying to look for food. However, he wasn't able to find anything...not even a spare bags of chisps.

Papyrus started to wake up, he began to stretch. Somehow, he was getting used to sleeping on the floor. He looked over at his brother with a tired expression. **"Good morning, Sans...I didn't realize you were up!"**

_"well...i don't want you to freak out or nothin', but we're out of food!"_ Sans said as picked up his backpack and shook it for emphasis. Papyrus rolled his eyes as he plopped back down on the floor. **"Of course we're out of food!"**

_"Well, I still have some money on me, we could buy some Tem Flakes!"_

**"We could, but they taste like cardboard,"** Papyrus replied. **"Do you have any other ideas?"**

_"well, maybe today we could look around at the dump,"_ Sans replied. Papyrus began to frown. **"Isn't that the place where stuff from the surface falls down?"**

_"yep, and there should be plenty of food for us to take!"_

**"So maybe we won't have to starve to death out here,"** Papyrus said happily. **"Sans, you're a genius!"**

_"yeah, well...i try my best,"_ Sans said with a shrug.

Papyrus began to follow Sans as he started to look for the Garbage Dump. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of stuff he could find there. If he was lucky, maybe he could find that dog. For all he knew, his arm was probably chewed up by now, but the scarf had to be fine at the very least.

* * *

The garbage dump was a strange place. Aside from the bridges, the dump had a large, black abyss hanging over it. Many items, such as books, games, and clothes had all fallen from the surface. Sometimes, monsters like to try and organize the garbage in neat little piles.

Papyrus was walking through the trash with Sans walking behind him. The sight of the trash made Papyrus feel uneasy. He could tell that the garbage would make his skin crawl...well, if he HAD skin. Still, there had to be something in here that made it worthwhile. When he looked down at his brother. He noticed that Sans had a worried look on his face, he had a hand over his chest.

**"Is something wrong?"** Papyrus asked. Sans jumped, but he shook his head afterwards. _"i'm fine, i probably just slept in a funny way last night."_

Papyrus frowned. He knew something was bothering Sans, but he didn't want to press any further. The last thing he wanted right now was to argue with his brother.

Sans started digging around in the trash to see if he could find anything. Papyrus gave Sans a concerned look. **"Are you sure we'll be able to find food, here?"**

_"sure we will,"_ Sans said happily, _"we just gotta look around a bit 'til we find something!"_

Papyrus nodded. Slowly, he began to dig around in the piles of trash. He didn't find anything pleasant. He found rotton apple cores, moldy bread, and green potatoes. He was aware that human food was far more different then monster food, but he wasn't aware of how gross it actually was. How could humans eat any of this stuff without getting sick? They really are stronger than monsters if they could eat food like this. Finally, Papyrus discovered a lonely milk carton sitting in the trash. He loved milk, so he was willing to try it. Unfortunately, when he opened the carton, a bad smell lingered in the air. And when he poured the milk out of the carton, it was as lumpy as mud. Papyrus turned his head to face his brother, speaking in a more deadpan tone. **"Sans, I don't think any of this stuff is edible!"**

_"whaddaya talkin' about, i'm findin' all kinds of stuff!"_ Sans said as he pulled out a carton of eggs and a can of soda. Papyrus covered his nasal cavity, he could smell the eggs from where he was standing. Surely, Sans couldn't be serious about this, could he?

Sans opened the can of soda, offering to share it with Papyrus. _"want some?"_

**"Ugh..."** Papyrus looked away from his brother, waving his hand in disgust. **"N-no thanks, I'm not really thirsty."**

Sans shrugged. _"oh well, more for me!"_

As Sans tried to chug down the can of soda, it bled through his white sweater. When he noticed how much of a mess he was making, he dropped the soda and jumped into the water. He tried to wash it out of his clothes.

**"Brother, please!"** Papyrus yelled as he placed a hand on Sans' skull. **"You're just going to make it worse!"**

_"well? what else am i s'pose to do?"_ Sans argued.

**"Hold on, I'll think of something!"**

Papyrus looked around a bit more in the trash, trying to look for some clothes. Unlike the food, the clothes didn't seem to have too many problems, save for a few moldy ones near the water. He continued to look through the trash until he managed to dig out a small, child-sized hoodie from the pile. It was a blue hoodie with a grey hood on it. Compared to most of the clothes in the trash, this hoodie still looked wearable. Papyrus walked over to Sans and placed the hoodie over him. **"There, you can wear this until we get back to the cave."**

Sans nodded, putting the hoodie on and zipping it up. _"thanks, bro."_

**"Of course, now we know that human food is useless to us skeletons,"** Papyrus said in defeat, **"so now what are we gonna do, now?"**

_"well,"_ Sans put his hands in his pockets, _"i think i might have a better solution!"_

Papyrus raised a non-existent eyebrow. **"Really? What did you have in mind?"**

Sans started to tug at Papyrus' sleeve. _"come with me and i'll show you!"_

Papyrus nodded as he followed Sans once again. Still, as much as he trusted his brother, he felt that no good could come to this.

* * *

As the skeletons walked out of the Garbage Dump, they eventually found themselves in front of someone's house. The house was shaped a like an angry fish, which Papyrus found amusing. He knocked on the door, but nobody answered.

**"Well, there doesn't seem to be anyone here,"** Papyrus said in disappointment. He looked down to talk to Sans, but he wasn't there. Papyrus looked around frantically for his brother, hoping that he didn't just take off on him. **"Sans?"**

_"over here, papyrus!"_ Sans called out from the trash can. Papyrus started to give him an odd look. **"Um...What are you doing!?"**

_"what's it look like?"_ Sans asked as his head popped out of the trash, his hood was over his head.

**"You know we're not supposed to dig around other people's garbage!"**

_"then how else are we s'posed to find food?"_ Sans argued. Papyrus placed his hands on his hips, looking as though he were scolding a child. **"It doesn't matter if we're looking for food, it's still GROSS!"**

Sans lowered his eyelids, giving his brother a dirty look. _"y'know...if you weren't so uptight, then-"_

"Ummm..."

The skeletons jumped as they heard a familiar voice. Papyrus turned his head to see a tall, blue fish monster with an eye patch and a red ponytail. She was standing there holding some groceries. She had a blank expression on her face. "What are you guys doing in my trash?"

**"OH, WELL LOOK AT THE TIME!"** Papyrus yelled as he picked up the trash can and started running. **"LET'S GO, SANS!"**

_"ACK!"_ Sans fell backwards as Papyrus carrying his brother in the trash can. As the skeleton brothers left, the fish monster continued giving them weird looks. She shook her head dismissively and started heading inside her house. "What a couple of weirdos!"

* * *

It was noon, Papyrus managed to bring his brother back to the cave before the fish had a chance to find them (not that she was going to, anyway). While the taller skeleton was laying sprawled across the floor, Sans was still sitting in the trash can. He was examining his soul. Ever since morning rolled by, the pain in his chest was slowly spreading through the rest of his body. The pain wasn't unbearable, but he still found it annoying. If only there was a way to stop it?

**"Sans, I don't know how much longer I can take this!"**

Upon hearing Papyrus speak, Sans placed his soul back into his chest and peaked out of the trash can. He had an annoyed expression on his face. _"well, what do you want me to do about it?"_

Papyrus sat up, glaring at his brother. **"We should just go back to New Home and forget about this!"**

_"well, i don't want to go back!"_ Sans said childishly as he crossed his arms.

**"And I say we should!"** Papyrus argued. **"We could've asked anyone to help us, but NOOOOO! Instead, you'd rather have us live out where it's cold, and wet, AND WE HAVE TO DIG THROUGH TRASH TO FIND FOOD!"**

_"and i'm telling you if we WERE to ask for help, NOBODY would bother with us!"_

**"Because we're better off on our own, is that it!?"** Papyrus asked bitterly, **"Or perhaps YOU'RE the one who's better off alone!"**

_"WHAT ARE YOU ATTACKING ME, FOR!?"_

**"Face it, this is all your fault!"** Papyrus yelled, **"If you hadn't have dragged me out here, I would've been doing just fine!"**

_"Yeah...you would be perfectly fine living on the streets back in New Home!"_ Sans said sarcastically. _"I swear to god, you can be so obnoxious!"_

**"I'M OBNOXIOUS!? YOU'RE THE ONE WHO KEEPS MAKING UP EXCUSES LIKE AN IDIOT!"**

_"YOU'RE THE IDIOT!"_

**"I KNOW YOU ARE, BUT WHAT AM I!?"**

_"AT LEAST I'M NOT THE ONE WHO'S DUMB ENOUGH TO GIVE A DOG HIS OWN ARM!"_

**"WELL AT LEAST I CAN TAKE A HIT, UNLIKE A CERTAIN SOMEONE WITH GLASS BONES!"**

_"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"_ Sans yelled.

**"Make me!"** Papyrus said, smiling triumphantly. Not long after that, Sans crawled out of the trash can and tackled Papyrus. The taller skeleton looked down at his brother with an angered look. **"So you really think you'd have a chance against me!?"**

_"Of course I would!"_ Sans yelled back. Papyrus scoffed at that comment. **"Oh come on, even DAD thought you were weak!"**

_"SHUT UP!"_

Sans summoned a bone in his hand and attempted to hit his brother. Papyrus dodged him several times, making sure that he didn't get hit. **"YOU CAN TRY ALL YOU WANT, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HIT ME!"**

_"Well? Maybe you should just get outta here!" Sans yelled, "I don't need you, anyway!"_

**"THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULD DROP DEAD!"** Papyrus yelled, slapping Sans across the face. **"FACE IT, YOU'RE THE SORRIEST EXCUSE OF A BROTHER THAT I'VE EVER KNOWN! WE WOULDN'T EVEN BE OUT HERE IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU! MAYBE YOU SHOULD'VE JUST FELL INTO THE CORE WITH-...Sans?"**

Sans let out a sob. He held his hand up to his face, he was staring at Papyrus with a look of fear and betrayal. A crack started to form where his brother had slapped him, tears were forming in his eye sockets. At that point, Papyrus started to shake. He tried to get closer to Sans, regretful for what he's done. **"W-wait, Sans! I didn't mean any of that, I was just-"**

Sans didn't say anything, he began to summon five Gaster Blasters, each of them blasting off at once. Papyrus closed his eyes as he held his arms over his body. None of the blasters actually hit him. But when Papyrus looked at where Sans was standing, he was gone.

Papyrus rattled violently, he wrapped his arm around himself. How could he hurt someone so frail? Not just physically, but mentally. Sans trusted him more than anything, but now he probably didn't want anything to do with him, anymore. As far as Papyrus was concerned, he no longer had a brother. He no longer had a FAMILY. It was HIS fault that Sans ran off. He sat down and wrapped his arm around his knees. It didn't take long until he started to cry, himself. Only one thought kept circling his mind like a broken record.

**"What have I done...?"**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Well I did say that things would get worse, didn't I?
> 
> Sibling rivalries are never fun. I think Papyrus might've come off a bit too harsh in this, but then again...they ARE siblings, so I suppose fights are bound to happen.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus has a talk with Undyne.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually meant to update this sooner, but I didn't have much time.
> 
> Also, while nothing entirely major happens, I should warn you that there are mentions of suicide/suicidal thoughts in this. (in fact, I'll probably add this warning to the tags, later).

 

Papyrus was all alone, unsure of what to do now. He rocked himself back and forth to try and calm himself, his thoughts continued to worry him. What if some careless monster kills Sans by accident? Or what if he dies of starvation? Or worse...

...What if he kills himself?

Papyrus' eye widened as that thought took over his head. He couldn't let Sans die out there, no matter what. He ran out of the cave, forgetting to take an umbrella as he started to search the area. A gelatin-like monster scurried by, catching Papyrus' attention.

**"Excuse me,"** Papyrus said as he ran up to the monster. **"Have you seen any other skeletons out here?"**

The monster burbled dejectedly, as though it were saying "no". Papyrus frowned, **"Well...thanks, anyway."**

Papyrus searched through the entirety of the rainy area, he searched through every possible cave and looked through any grass that he could find, but no matter what, he wasn't able to find Sans. He should've figured that this was going to be tougher then he thought. But he needed to find Sans and apologize Even if it meant searching for eternity.

* * *

It had been hours now, and Papyrus started to search outside of Waterfall. He started calling out to his brother, hoping that he would be able to call back.

**"SANS!? ARE YOU OUT HERE!?"**

There was no answer, he tried calling, again. **"IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, THEN I AM SORRY!"**

Unfortunately, every time Papyrus called out to his brother, he was only greeted with silence...save for a few echo flowers mimicking him in the distance. Papyrus tried calling out to his brother, again. **"SANS!"**

Again, there was only silence. Papyrus has never felt so horrible, it felt like his soul would shatter any minute, now. It felt like if he DID find Sans, then he would've been dust by now.

Papyrus walked into a shop, hoping that somebody at least caught a glimpse of his brother. Standing at the counter was an elderly tortoise monster, one of his eyes was permanently closed.

"Whoa there, it's been a while since I've seen a skeleton 'round here!"

**"Nyeh heh heh..."** Papyrus rubbed the back of his neck. **"If you don't mind me asking, have you seen any OTHER skeletons out here?"**

"Nope, not that I know of," The tortoise said with a shrug, "In fact, you're the only skeleton I've seen here besides Mono."

Papyrus looked down at his feet, discouraged. **"Oh, well...thanks for telling me."**

"Well, if you really need help, then I'd suggest talkin' to Undyne," The tortoise said with a smile, "Since she's always patrolling Waterfall, I'm sure she might be able to find who you're looking for!"

Papyrus let out a sigh of relief. If Sans didn't come back soon, he would have to rely on Undyne Hopefully, she was willing to help. **"All right, thank you."**

"It's no problem," The tortoise said, happily. "Feel free to come back any time you'd like!"

Papyrus left the shop, telling himself repeatedly that Sans was going to be all right, that wherever he was, nothing else was going to hurt him. It probably wasn't true, but he was hopeful that Sans was fine, that he might've fallen asleep in a comfy patch of grass somewhere.

* * *

As another day had gone past, Papyrus still had no luck finding Sans. He checked the Wishing Room, Temmie Village, and even searched throughout the rainy area in Waterfall, again. He saw no sign of Undyne, either. He would've assumed that finding a monster clad in armor would be easy, but it wasn't. In fact, she usually found HIM first rather then the other way around.

Papyrus was now on his way to the garbage dump, where he assumed that his brother would be. After all, unlike Papyrus, he didn't mind digging through trash. However, as he walked through the garbage, he found the fish monster from yesterday. She was digging around in the trash, throwing things away like old books, broken video games, and DVDs.

"AHA!" The fish yelled triumphantly as she pulled out a sword, it looked like it was made from plastic. The fish paused as she spotted Papyrus. The skeleton braced himself, expecting her to yell at him.

"Hey, Papyrus! I didn't see you,there!"

**"U-um..."** Papyrus looked puzzled, he felt sweat forming on his skull. **"D-do I know you?"**

"What? You don't remember me?" The fish asked. Papyrus gave her a blank stare.

"It's me, Undyne!"

**"O-oh,"** Papyrus began to blush in embarrassment. **"I-I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you without your armor."**

"Oh yeah, I guess that explains why you took off with my trash can," Undyne said with a wide, toothy grin. "Anyway, where's your brother?"

**"Oh..."** Papyrus began to frown, lowering his eyelids half-way. Undyne walked over to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "Hey, how about we talk at my place!"

Papyrus nodded. **"I would love that, thank you."**

"All right, then follow me!"

Undyne grabbed Papyrus' hand, leading him out of the garbage dump and over to her house. It actually looked a bit like Undyne's face, now that Papyrus had thought about it. The fish monster walked ahead of him and opened the door, gesturing for him to go inside. "After you!"

Papyrus walked into the house. The inside had a nice little kitchen with a table and a piano near the entrance. There was a door at the end of the kitchen, which he assumed lead to Undyne's room.

"Why don't you have a seat over there," Undyne said as she pointed to the table. Papyrus nodded as he pulled out one of the chairs and sat down. Undyne walked over to the drawer and pulled something out. "Before you say anything, I finally caught that dog."

**"Oh, did he cause you any problems?"**

Undyne shook her head as she handed something over to Papyrus. "He got away, but I got your stuff back."

Papyrus looked at the stuff he was given. It was his left arm, wrapped up in his scarf like a present. He put his arm back into place, rotating it a few times before resting it on the table. **"I never thought I'd get these back, thank you."**

"It's no problem," Undyne replied as she pulled out a box of tea and a kettle, placing them onto the counter. "While I'm getting everything ready, why don't you tell me what's on your mind?"

**"Um...why?"**

"'Cause I know something's bothering you, now tell we what's wrong!"

Papyrus let out a deep sigh as he wrapped his scarf around his neck, placing his jaw in his hands. **"Well, it all started back in New Home..."**

* * *

As Undyne was making the tea, Papyrus told to tell her as much as he could. He told her about Sclara, how Gaster fell into the Core, how he and Sans got kicked out of their apartment, how they moved from New Home to Waterfall, and even how they ended up fighting, yesterday. Needless to say, it was a lot for the fish to take in.

"Geez, no wonder you've been digging through my trash," Undyne said as she placed a cup of tea on the table for Papyrus. She sat down on the opposite end, her head resting in her hand. "Still, why didn't you guys say anything?"

**"Well, we didn't think that you'd want to help,"** Papyrus said as he quietly sipped his tea. Undyne pounded the table with her fist, causing Papyrus to jump in fear. "Dude, I totally would've helped if you'd say something. I mean, I don't have much, but I would've been happy to let you guys stay here!"

**"Wowie...I didn't think you'd actually care,"** Papyrus said as he began to smile. Undyne gave him a strange look. "Believe me...if I didn't care, then I wouldn't have gotten your arm back!"

"I suppose that's true," Papyrus said frowning. He looked down at the tea and started swirling it around. **"Still...I'm worried about Sans, I'm scared that I might not ever get to see him, again, especially after what I did."**

"Well it can't be the first time you two fought, right?" Undyne asked. Papyrus shook his head. **"We've fought plenty of times, before...but never THIS badly. I don't know if Sans will forgive me, not after I said all those nasty things to him."**

"Hm..." Undyne tapped her fingers against the table, her fins closing a bit. "I don't know too much about him...but I'm sure if Sans would've forgiven you by now."

**"What do you mean?"**

"Well? He's your brother, isn't he?" Undyne asked, "He can get mad at you all he wants, but I'm sure he'll forgive you, eventually."

**"Yeah...You're right,"** Papyrus said quietly. **"Still, do you think you'll be able to keep an eye out for him? I don't want him to do anything careless."**

"Of course," Undyne said, happily. "That's what friends are for, right?"

Papyrus' eye sockets widened, he looked at Undyne in pure shock. **"D-did you just say you we were friends?"**

"Of course," Undyne replied, "Why'd you think I'd let you stay here and talk to me?"

Papyrus smiled even wider, who would've thought that he'd actually become friends with Undyne, of all people? He was certain that nobody would believe him if he said anything, not even Sans.

He looked at the clock, noticing that he's spent nearly an hour talking with Undyne. He took a sip of his tea before standing up. **"Well, I should probably get going."**

"Are you sure?" Undyne asked, "You're allowed to stay here if you want!"

**"I know, and I would love to stay, but what if Sans comes back to the cave?"**

"Oh, right," Undyne got up from her seat, walking over to Papyrus and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Tell ya what, how about we split up and look for Sans? That we we could cover more ground! I mean...you have a cell phone, right?"

**"Oh..."** Papyrus began to blush. **"I HAD a cell phone, but I left it back in New Home."**

"Well, then we can just meet up back here. Does that sound good?"

**"That sounds like a good idea!"** Papyrus said happily.

"NGAAAH! THEN WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR!?" Undyne yelled, "WE'VE GOT A SKELETON TO FIND, AND WE'RE NOT GONNA LET HIM SUFFER OUT THERE, ARE WE!?"

**"NO, MA'AM!"** Papyrus said as he saluted the fish.

"GOOD, NOW LET'S GO FIND HIM BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!"

Undyne ran out of the door like a warrior setting off to fight hoard of humans. While she did so, Papyrus jumped out of the window and did a front flip, landing on both of his feet. They were determined to find Sans, hoping that the elder skeleton was going to be all right.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sans was walking through the rainy area in Waterfall, trying to find where the cave was. He was unable to stand up properly, so he leaned against the wall as a way to help support himself. He felt awful, his bones felt like they could snap like twigs, his vision was starting to get blurry, and his chest hurt worse and worse as each minute passed by, which made it very difficult for him to breathe. It was like his own body was rejecting itself, like someone was effortlessly grinding his bones into bone meal.

He was close to the cave, he only had a couple more feet to go. Unfortunately, his legs refused to move any further. It felt like his feet were being weighed down by cement blocks, which kept him from moving any further. Sans moved his arm weakly and pulled his soul out of his chest. He saw how dull it was, watching as his magic was slowly being drained before his very eyes. He put his soul back into his chest and leaned against the wall, sliding down as he could no longer support his own weight. He tried calling out to Papyrus, but all that came out was a small whine, it was almost inaudible.

This was it, this was the end for him. He was too sick to move, he could barely make a sound, it was a matter of time before he fell down and turned to dust. He had wished that he said something to Papyrus, then maybe he wouldn't be like this. It made him upset, he would never be able to see his brother again, not before he died...

...But perhaps it was better this way. He thought that Papyrus would be much happier without him, that once he was gone, Papyrus could be free to do whatever he wanted. Sans was no longer needed, he was useless as far as he knew. So once he was gone, he no longer had to worry about slowing Papyrus down. His smile widened as the morbid thought circled through his skull.

The pain was getting worse, Sans' consciousness was slipping. The last thing he heard before passing out was the soft, gentle rain pouring from the ceiling.

...and a familiar, if distant voice calling his name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...So I apologize for the mood whiplash, earlier.
> 
> Anyways, I'll try to update the next chapter, soon...especially since I'll be on vacation, next weekend.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus tries to save Sans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right...starting Saturday, I'll be gone for about a week, so I won't be able to update for a while.

 

For the rest of the day, Papyrus spent the whole day searching for Sans. He made sure to check around the garbage dump while Undyne went on ahead to check Temmie Village. Unable to find anything, Papyrus figured that he would look back at his cave to see if Sans came back for whatever reason.

Papyrus walked into the rainy area, checking to see if his brother was around. So far, there hasn't been any sign of him, or any other monster for that matter. However, as he walked closer to the cave, he saw a small, blue figure leaning against the wall.

**"Sans?"** Papyrus ran over to the figure and knelt down to his level. He began shaking the smaller skeleton. **"Why are you sleeping in the rain?"**

Something didn't feel right, Sans' breath was shallow, he felt warm under Papyrus' touch. He took the smaller skeleton inside the cave and laid him down on the makeshift bed. He wondered what was wrong with him. Since his clothes were completely soaked, maybe it was a severe case of the flu? He lightly tapped on his brother's cheekbones to wake him up, but that didn't do anything. Suddenly, a horrible thought came to Papyrus' head. **"Please don't tell me that you have what I think you have!"**

He gently lifted his brother's shirt, he saw that Sans' soul was slowly losing its magic, it slipped freely from his rib cage. At this point, Papyrus knew it was MUCH worse then the flu. Somehow, Sans managed to catch Soul Sickness.

Soul Sickness was a fatal disease that drains the magic out of a living monster, to the point where they fall down and turn to dust. This disease could kill a monster within days, maybe even hours. And only the strongest monsters usually survive such an illness.

Papyrus wasn't sure what he should do now. Soul Sickness was treatable, he knew that much, but they were very far away from New Home's hospital. There was the lab in Hotland, so maybe there was something there that could help Sans? But what about Undyne? Would she be upset if Papyrus just left her out here? Whatever the risk, he wrapped Sans into a blanket to try and preserve any magic he had left in him. He picked him up off the ground and ran out of the cave, shielding Sans from the rain. He was willing to do whatever it takes to save his brother.

**"I'm sorry, Sans! But I don't have a choice!"**

* * *

Papyrus ran as fast as his long, bony legs could carry him while keeping Sans close to his chest. He ran past the bridges, through the garbage dump, and through the field of echo flowers. He steered clear of any monsters that were in his way, trying his best to avoid any conflict. He didn't want Sans to die, he REFUSED to let him die, he was not willing to lose his one and only family in the Underground.

Eventually, Papyrus felt his legs getting tired, he couldn't keep running, anymore. Looking around, he was in an area full of mushrooms. He assumed that Temmie Village was nearby, so he had to be getting closer to Hotland. He looked down at Sans, who looked like he was getting worse by each passing minute. Papyrus held him close as he kept moving. **"Don't worry, Sans...we're almost there!"**

Papyrus heard a thumping noise, which startled him. He looked around until he saw someone walking out of the shadows. It was a familiar orange dragon, one that he wasn't too pleased to see.

"Hehe...it's been a while...hasn't it, Rattles?"

Papyrus backed away slowly as the dragon got closer. **"I-Is that you, Ricky?"**

"Who did you think it was?" Ricky asked. "Ever since Sclara died, I've had to stay as far away from New Home as I possibly could. Because of you, I've had the pleasure of running away from those guards," He gave Papyrus a dirty look, "I especially have to worry about is that annoying fish!"

**"U-um..."** Papyrus started to shrink back. **"I know you're mad, but please! This is an emergency!"**

"I don't care if it's an emergency," Ricky yelled, "It's YOUR fault I'm out here! If you'd stay far away from Sclara, she would still be alive...she still would've been my FRIEND."

Papyrus couldn't tell, but it looked like Ricky had tears forming in his eyes. Papyrus gave his a sympathetic look as he walked closer to him. **"Ricky, please...I know you're upset, but blaming me isn't going to do anything...It's not going to bring Sclara back."**

"...That may be true...but you know what? I can finally kill you off, myself!"

**"WHAT!? NO!"** Papyrus yelled in protest. **"FOR GOD'S SAKE, HAVE SOME MERCY!"**

"But someone like you doesn't even DESERVE mercy," Ricky said as he looked down, noticing noticing that Sans was unconscious in his arms. "Oh hey...not only will I be able to kill you off, I'll be able to put your brother out of his misery...After all, I'm sure I can kill two brothers with one claw strike!"

Papyrus jumped back at Ricky stroked the floor with his claws. Using whatever magic he had, Papyrus summoned a Gaster Blaster, which scared the dragon as it shot in his direction. While Ricky was distracted, Papyrus made a run for it. He ran away from the field of mushrooms and into the field of echo flowers.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU ANNOYING BUNDLE OF BONES!" Ricky yelled as he chased Papyrus through Waterfall. No matter what, he had to keep running. He knew that Ricky wouldn't hesitate to kill him if he stopped. He was getting further and further away from Hotland, but he had to protect Sans at all costs.

There was a gap ahead of them. Perhaps if he jumped over the gap, he would be able to lose Ricky for a small amount of time. Mustering whatever courage he had left, Papyrus jumped over the gap. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to work. Ricky jumped over it without any effort. As Papyrus kept running, he eventually made his way into some tall grass. He hoped that by staying very quiet in the grass, Ricky might not be able to find him. So far, it looked like it was working.

Papyrus sat down in the grass, exhausted. He tried to catch his breath, hoping that Ricky might not be able to find him. His bones were rattling uncontrollably.

Despite being unconscious, Sans let out a small whimper. Papyrus held his brother close and gently rubbed the back of his skull, he could tell that he was in a lot of pain, but this was all he could do for him. **"It's OK, Sans, I promise we'll make it out of this, alive!"**

It was strangely silent, Papyrus wasn't sure if they were safe or not. He stood up slowly, expecting Ricky to be gone. However, he was wrong. He felt four sharp claws running painfully down his back, striking him down.

"So...you thought you could get away," Ricky said, smiling sadistically. Papyrus looked up at Ricky, he felt like he could fall apart at any moment.

**"Y-You don't h-have t-to do this,"** Papyrus said, weakly. **"I-I kn-know you c-can do a l-little better!"**

"You're absolutely right!" Ricky said, happily. "And I CAN do better by killing you both right here, right now!"

Ricky tried to strike down at Papyrus, again. The tall skeleton cringed in fear, holding his brother for dear life. Nothing could save them, now.

...Except for the ground?

Papyrus noticed the ground below Ricky turning blue, knocking him back as blue spears shot upwards like water geysers. Shortly after the spears disappeared, Undyne came out of the grass, jumping defensively in front of Papyrus. "If you want to hurt my friends, you'll have to go through ME first!"

Ricky snorted as he looked down at Undyne. "Like I'm going to listen to some fish!"

Undyne started to growl, menacingly. She looked back at Papyrus, still keeping a tough image. "Papyrus, are you OK?"

**"Ergh..."** Papyrus struggled to stand up, holding Sans tightly as he did so. **"Y-yes, I'm fine!"**

Ricky tried to strike at Undyne, who blocked his attack off with her spear. Papyrus had no doubts that she was strong enough to defeat Ricky, and yet...

**"Undyne!"**

The fish turned her head, giving Papyrus a confused look.

**"I need you to take Sans to a hospital,"** Papyrus said as he handed the sick skeleton over to Undyne. "What? Why me?"

**"Because I'M the one, he's after!"**

"But-"

**"JUST GO!"** Papyrus yelled as he pushed Undyne, **"FORGET ABOUT ME!"**

Undyne gave Papyrus one last look of concern before heading off with Sans. Now it was just a fight between Papyrus and Ricky, like it SHOULD be.

Papyrus turned Ricky's soul blue, throwing him against the wall while summoning a bone in his hand. He looked over at Papyrus with a confused look.

**"If you want a fight, then fine!" I'll give you a fight!"** Papyrus yelled as his eye sockets started to glow Orange. Ricky scoffed as he sat up, pulling firecrackers out of his pockets. "All right, but we both know how this will end!"

Ricky threw firecrackers at Papyrus, who dodged them quickly. He retaliated by waving his bone wand, summoning blue and white bones and sending them over to Ricky. Fighting him was going to be hard, but as long as Undyne was able to find a hospital, then he really didn't mind.

Papyrus summoned two more Gaster Blasters, aiming them both at Ricky as the dragon tried to roll away. One of the beams managed to hit his tail. Ricky summoned a dozen fireballs in his hands and quickly sent them over to Papyrus. One of them managed to hit his chest, but Papyrus kept his feet planted onto the ground. His eyes began to flash between orange and purple as he attacked Ricky with a barrage of bones, giving the dragon a much harder time to dodge. However, after the bones were gone, Ricky went missing. Papyrus looked around frantically until Ricky slashed him from behind, knocking his down, once again. The dragon cackled as he placed a foot on Papyrus' ribcage. "You know, Rattles...I think it's about time you learn your place!"

**"Well, I think it's time that you learn yours!"** Papyrus yelled as he summoned a small blaster, throwing Ricky off of his back as the blaster shot a laser at him. He felt a sharp pain along his spine, but he HAD to keep fighting. Not only for his sake, but for Sans' sake as well.

He could only hope that Sans was still alive.

* * *

Snowdin was a quiet town that rested outside of the Ruins (known formally as "Home"). It was mainly inhabited by fuzzy creatures as well as ice monsters. It wasn't as big as New Home, but the sight of the small town was always welcoming to strangers.

A group of dogs were walking out of the bar. The leader of the group looked like a husky (or was he a Shepard? Nobody really knew what he was). His name was Doggo, he let out a defeated sigh as he took out a dog biscuit and lit it up. "I can't believe I lost to the big guy, again!"

The tallest dog in the group barked loudly as he started wagging his tail. Another dog, Dogamy, wearing a black robe gave the husky a pat on the back. "Well, maybe you'll win, next time."

"That's easy for you to say, I can't even tell which cards are supposed to be which!"

Suddenly, the fourth dog in the group began to sniff the air. Her tail began to wag as her mouth started to water. Doggo began to whisper in Dogamy's ear. "Hey, I think something's wrong with your wife!"

"Nothing's wrong with her," Dogamy argued, "She must've found something important!"

"It's true," said the female dog, "I smell bones," She sniffed the air, again. "And...fish?"

The dogs' ears perked up as they saw a blue fish monster running through town, knocking people over while carrying something wrapped up in her arms. "Is that Captain Undyne?"

Not long after, Undyne ran up to the dogs, she looked like she was in a hurry. "Have you guys seen Dr. Puff anywhere!?"

"She should be at the hospital," Doggo replied. "Why do you ask?"

"BECAUSE I NEED HER, RIGHT NOW!" Undyne yelled, revealing the sick skeleton in her arms. "WE HAVE TO HURRY BEFORE HE FALLS DOWN!"

The dogs panicked as they followed Undyne to the hospital. She nearly kicked the door off of its hinges. At the front desk was a poodle, wearing a nurse's uniform. She looked like she just woke up from a nap.

"DR. PUFF, I NEED YOU TO TAKE CARE OF THIS MONSTER RIGHT NOW OR-"

"Slow down, I can hardly hear what you're saying," Puff complained as she rubbed her eyes. Undyne handed Sans over to Puff before she could do anything else. "I need you to take him in, RIGHT NOW!"

Puff looked down at Sans, she could tell that he was ready to fall down at any second. She walked out of her desk and started heading upstairs. "I'll see what I can do!"

"Oh my god, thank you!" Undyne placed a hand over her chest, she didn't realize how fast her heart was beating. Dogamy placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you OK, Undyne?"

Undyne looked back at the other dogs, giving them a weary look. "I'm fine, I've just been busy keeping an eye on these two boneheads!"

"You mean there's another one?" asked Dogaressa. Undyne nodded. "Yes, and I need to find the other one before he gets himself killed!"

"UNDYNE, WAIT!"

It was too late, Undyne bolted out of the hospital before the dogs could say anything. All this running was going to tire her out, but she needed to make sure that Papyrus was OK. Knowing that Ricky almost killed him once, it was a matter of time before Papyrus dies, himself. She looked back as the dogs started to run after her, it was almost like they were chasing a cat. She began yelling back at them. "C'MON, WE GOTTA HURRY!"

The dogs began to run faster, keeping up with Undyne as best as they could. If they could catch Ricky on time, then hopefully they'll be able to save Papyrus, as well.

* * *

Papyrus had been fighting Ricky for what seemed like forever. He could tell that he was exhausted, the best thing for him to do would be to quit. But he wasn't going to give up just yet.

Ricky ran up to Papyrus and tried to slash at him, again. However, Papyrus dodged the attack and whacked Ricky with the bone in his hand. The dragon hissed as he spat a tooth out of his mouth. Ricky growled furiously as he summoned hundreds of fireballs, all of which were different colors: White, blue, and orange. He threw them all at Papyrus, who tried to swat at them. Unfortunately, it didn't work well against the flames as they knocked him against the wall. He was sitting there, he was going limp from exhaustion.

"Well doesn't this look familiar?" Ricky asked in a snarky tone. He walked over to Papyrus and grabbed him by the scarf. A fireball started to form in his hand. "Maybe you should've let that fish fight for you, instead!"

But before Ricky could hurt Papyrus, five Gaster Blasters appeared over the skeleton's head. All of them went off at once. Ricky fell back harshly on the floor as Papyrus landed on his feet. His eye sockets continued to flash as he looked down at Ricky disdainfully.

"Haha...HAHAHAHA," Ricky began to laugh, pathetically. "WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO, KILL ME!?"

Papyrus snorted in disrespect. **"You are the worst monster I have ever met! All you've ever done is terrorize everyone you thought was weak. Not only that, but you tried to kill me TWICE! I could kill you RIGHT HERE if I wanted to...but..."** The bone in Papyrus' hand disappeared, the glow in his eye sockets began to fade. **"No matter HOW much I hate someone, no matter HOW terrible they are, I could never bring myself to kill them!"**

"...So even after what I've done to you, you STILL want to give me mercy?"

**"Of course I do,"** Papyrus said, kneeling and offering to give Ricky his hand. **"I have no desire to be friends with you, but I still think you deserve another chance. After all, I think that's what Sclara would've wanted."**

"Heh...you know what? I accept your offer," Ricky said as he grabbed Papyrus' hand. The skeleton began to smile as he helped Ricky sit up. However, a wave of betrayal hit him like a brick as the dragon stabbed through his rib cage, his claws digging through the bones like twigs. Papyrus collapsed onto the floor, protecting what was left of his chest. **"W-why?"**

"Because you should've killed me when you had the chance!"

**"I see..."** Papyrus began to scowl, it hurt to talk, but he used whatever energy he had left to speak to Ricky. **"But...if you ARE going to kill me, then I promise...nothing good...will come out of it!"**

Ricky stepped onto Papyrus' skull, he was about to turn him into dust when a group of spears flew by him. He ducked as the spears flew by, but was pushed to the ground by a large dog. When Ricky tried to move, the dog snarled at him.

"That's right, Greater Dog, make sure he doesn't leave that spot!"

Papyrus looked over to his left, he saw Undyne had returned with a group of dogs following not too far behind her. He could see that she was talking to two dogs wearing a black robe. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't speak. And as the dogs walked over to him, his vision turned blurry. He passed out shortly after he was picked up off the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, this is officially the longest fanfiction I've ever written...should I be proud?


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus wakes up at a hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back from vacation, so here's a new chapter.

Papyrus winced as pain erupted in his chest. When he opened his eye sockets, he saw that he was in some sort of log cabin. At the foot of the bed was a large, white, Pomeranian. It looked like the dog that tackled Ricky, but it was missing its armor. It was laying on top of Papyrus' scarf for whatever reason.

He tried to move, but he wasn't able to sit up. He looked down, noticing that he was wearing a white gown with blue polka dots. He poked one of his ribs, cringing afterwards as the pain flared from the touch. Doing that was bad idea!

Suddenly, the dog began to lift its head...although it was hard to tell where its head was. It looked over at Papyrus and started barking. It grabbed the scarf and dragged it over to Papyrus, making sure not to step anywhere near his chest.

**"Oh, thank you!"** Papyrus said as he accepted the scarf, placing it next to him. He started petting the dog on the head. **"So you must be Greater Dog, right?"**

Greater Dog barked happily as he started wagging his tail. He nuzzled Papyrus' hand as the skeleton started petting him, again.

**"If it weren't for you guys, Ricky certainly would've killed me."** The skeleton began to frown. He wondered if he did the right thing to spare Ricky, maybe he should've killed him when he had the chance? That way, he wouldn't have broken his ribs.

"Bark! Bark!"

**"Oh, sorry,"** Papyrus said, shaking him head. **"I didn't mean to worry you."**

Greater Dog's ears perked up as he jumped off Papyrus' bed, running out of the room as quickly as possible. The skeleton gave him a confused look. **"Wait, where are you going!?"**

Greater Dog barked in response, though Papyrus had no idea what he was saying. Still, as grateful as he was for being alive, he wondered how Sans was doing. Was he alive, too? Was he even awake? He wasn't even sure. For all he knew, Sans could've fallen down, already.

Suddenly, Papyrus saw a tall poodle monster walking into the room, carrying a tray of food in her paws. He looked up at the poodle with a curious gaze. **"Excuse me, ma'am?"**

"Hm?" The dog tilted her head as she looked down at Papyrus. Her name tag said "Dogtor Puff".

**"Um...where am I right now?"**

"You're in Snowdin Hospital," Dr. Puff replied as she placed the tray on food of the bed stand. Googly eyes formed in Papyrus' eye sockets. "TH-THIS IS A HOSPITAL!?"

Dr. Puff gently placed a paw on Papyrus' skull as he winced, again. "Take it easy, all right."

**"Y-yes, ma'am,"** Papyrus said quietly. **"But I must ask...is my brother here, too?"**

"He is, but..."

**"But what?"**

"Well..." Dr. Puff started to frown, her tail fell between her legs. "He was very close to falling when Undyne brought him in. And while he hasn't fallen down yet, he hasn't woken up, either. I'm doing the best I can to treat him, but I don't know if he'll be able to wake up, again."

**"Oh..."** Papyrus began to frown, **"Well...do you think I'll be able to see him, again before he falls?"**

"You might be able to," Dr. Puff said, "But for now, you just need to rest. All right?"

**"Yes, ma'am."**

Dr. Puff patted the young skeleton on the head before she left. Papyrus wasn't sure how to feel, now. Was he sad? Was he worried? As far as he knew, it felt like a pit had formed in his non-existent stomach. He hated to admit it, but there was a good chance that he could lose his brother. Sure, Sans wasn't a perfect angel or anything, he didn't deserve this...nobody did.

Still, he wanted to spend some time with him before he turned to dust. Maybe then, he could set some things right. Even if Sans couldn't hear him, he was willing to apologize as best as he could. But for now, he needed more rest. While the idea of napping never appealed to him, this was probably the best option for him. Sleep always helped a monster heal quicker, so the more a monster slept, the faster a monster would heal. Heck, napping would even improve a monster's health for a short period of time...

...No wonder Sans liked napping so much.

* * *

Papyrus woke up startled as the door was suddenly kicked down. Undyne ran inside and practically tackled the chair next Papyrus. "Oh thank god you're all right, you really had us all worried!"

"Was it really necessary to break the door down?" Asked a familiar dog as she stepped inside. Undyne looked back at the dogs and shrugged. "I guess I don't know my own strength."

**"Um...what's going on,"** Papyrus asked.

"Ever since Greater Dog told us that you were awake, Undyne wanted to rush in and see how you were doing." The dog gave Undyne a stern look. "Of course, she also ended up knocking people down like a bulldozer...again."

Undyne replied with a shrug. "Hey, nobody got hurt this time!"

"Well, you should still be more careful, next time. We don't have THAT many doctors to begin with!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Undyne said, looking away in embarrassment. "I'll try to be more careful."

**"Excuse me!"**

The duo looked down at Papyrus, who was looking up at the dog.

**"Correct me if I'm wrong, but have we met, before?"**

"Well...you do SMELL familiar," said the dog as she began to remember something. "Wait, aren't you the young skeleton who led me to the spider bakery?"

**"Oh, yes! NOW I remember,"** Papyrus replied.

"You've met Dogaressa, before?" Undyne asked. Papyrus nodded. **"I did, but I wasn't aware that she was a guardswoman."**

Dogaressa rubbed her arm, looking somewhat modest. "Well, I'm certainly not as strong as Undyne, I can tell you that much."

"Oh come on, you're probably the strongest dog I've seen down here!"

"Do you really think so?" Dogaressa asked, wagging her tail. Undyne gave her an odd look as she started petting the dog. "Um...of course you are!"

Papyrus began to frown. Usually when it came to strong monsters, Sans was the first thing that came to mind. Despite his own frailty, he was probably the strongest monster that he had ever known. But now, chances are that he's already dead.

Undyne nudged Papyrus, she gave him a look of concern. "Are you OK?"

**"I-I'm all right,"** Papyrus mumbled. Undyne didn't buy it, she began to look more sympathetic. "You're worried about your brother, aren't you?"

Papyrus let out a deep sigh, he slowly nodded his head. **"He's probably dead, already."**

"No he's not," Dogaressa interrupted. Papyrus looked up at her, puzzled. **"How can you tell?"**

"Because I can still smell him from across the room," Dogaressa replied. Papyrus looked at Undyne with pleading eyes. **"Do you think you could carry me over there?"**

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Undyne replied. "You got hurt, and I don't want you to get any worse!"

**"I'm a skeleton, it's not like I have any organs to worry about!"** Papyrus argued, **"Now please, I want to see my brother, again!"**

Undyne replied with a shrug. "All right, but don't say I didn't warn ya!"

Papyrus clutched onto his scarf as he slowly got out of bed. Undyne guided him over to the other room where Sans was. From what Papyrus could see, magic was still leaking out of Sans' chest. He was hooked up to a machine that read how much magic he had, although he couldn't remember what it was called. He figured he would just call it the "magic scanner".

Undyne guided Papyrus into the room, allowing him to sit in the chair next to his brother's bed. Dogaressa followed the duo with a pillow in her paws. She handed it over to Papyrus. "You might want this, just in case your ribs start to bother you."

**"Thank you,"** Papyrus replied as he put the pillow in his lap. He looked over at Undyne. **"Um...would you two give us a moment alone, please?"**

"Oh, sure," Undyne said as she guided Dogaressa out of the room. "I'll be outside if you need me!"

Once Undyne was gone, Papyrus looked down at Sans. He grabbed onto his brother's hand and gently squeezed it. He saw that a tube was going through his chest, which connected to an IV bag next to his bed.

**"So how have you been doing?"**

_"..."_

Papyrus lowered his eyelids. **"I see that you haven't been doing too well, yourself!"**

_"..."_

**"...Maybe I can try to heal you, would that be OK?"**

_"..."_

Papyrus' hand turned green as he tried to heal Sans, thinking that it would help get rid of Soul Sickness, somehow. Despite the pain in his ribs getting worse, he thought that Sans would be able to wake up if he did this. Unfortunately, the green magic started leaking through Sans' soul. Papyrus looked at the Magic Scanner, his stats read as followed.

_**ATK: 1** _

_**DF: 1** _

_**HP: 0.0001** _

While the medicine in the IV kept Sans from falling down, Papyrus wasn't sure how much longer it would work. And yet, looking at his HP, he saw that Sans was holding onto whatever magic he could get a hold of.

**"Don't worry, dear brother,"** Papyrus said, gently. **"If you ever wake up, then I promise that I, The Great Papyrus, will take better care of you. And if you don't wake up, then..."** He shook his head, trying to fight back tears. **"No, you can survive this! I refuse to believe that my brother would let an illness get to him!"**

Sans' fingers twitched, it almost felt like he heard Papyrus talking. The younger skeleton took comfort in that thought. It was a small chance, but he hoped that Sans might be able to survive this. He began to smile, speaking in a more positive tone. **"I know you'll live through this, Sans...I believe in you, after all!"**

As expected, Sans didn't respond. Papyrus let out a deep sigh, he sat back down in his chair and ran his thumb over his brother's hand. He wasn't willing to give up on Sans yet, he HAD to get better no matter what.

* * *

Roughly an hour had passed, Undyne decided to peak into the room. "Papyrus?"

Papyrus was still sitting in the chair, resting his head in one hand while holding onto Sans' hand with the other. He looked like he was about to cry, though she couldn't tell if it was from Sans or from the broken ribs...or maybe it was both?

Undyne walked over to Papyrus, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. "How about we go back to your room, all right?"

**"But what about Sans?"** Papyrus asked as he looked up at Undyne. The fish monster sighed, placing a hand on her hip. "He's not gonna go anywhere, all right?" She gently coaxed Papyrus to sit up, "Now come on, let's get you back to bed!"

**"Yes, ma'am,"** Papyrus said formally. He looked down at his brother with a solemn look. He didn't want to leave his side so soon. A thought suddenly came into his mind, he took his scarf and gently wrapped it around his brother's neck. As important as the scarf was, he thought Sans needed it more then he did.

**"You may borrow this until you get better. That way, you'll always be safe, and I'll be able to stay by your side."** Papyrus began to frown, lowering his eyelids half way. **"You WILL get better...right?"**

"Come on, Papyrus!" Undyne said, impatiently. "You can see him again, later."

**"Yes, Undyne!"** Papyrus said as he slowly followed the fish out of the room. He quietly closed the door behind him, letting his brother sleep peacefully. He hoped that his brother could wake up, soon.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus is introduced to Snowdin Town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I should warn you that there are some suicidal thoughts in this chapter.

Papyrus has stayed in the hospital for four days now. One reason was that since he didn't have a home, it was the only place he COULD stay. Another reason was because he couldn't bring himself to leave Sans alone for very long. He talked to his brother every day, he would often make up stories or sometimes tell him jokes. And while Sans never responded, it still felt rewarding just talking to him.

It was another day in Snowdin, and Papyrus had gotten out of bed. He slowly put on his outfit (which someone was nice enough to wash, he assumed it was Dr. Puff) and made his way over to Sans' room. He spoke in an unusually quiet tone. **"Good morning, dear brother."**

_"..."_

**"I'm sorry I don't have a lot to say this time around,"** Papyrus said as he grabbed his brother's hand. **"Though perhaps I could try to heal you, again. Would that be OK?"**

_"..."_

**"All right, here we go!"**

Once again, Papyrus used healing magic in an attempt wake up Sans, but as expected, the green magic was flowing out of his chest. Papyrus let out a deep sigh, resting his head in his hands. **"Seriously, what am I going to do with you?"**

_"..."_

He looked over at the Magic Scanner, he saw that his brother's magic was still low...and yet, it was slightly higher then it was several days ago. In fact, his HP was at 0.5, which was quite the improvement. He hoped that eventually, he would wake up again. However, Dr. Puff said that anything could go wrong with him at any time. He could develop an immunity from the medicine, or the Soul Sickness could get even worse then it already was. But regardless, Papyrus felt that Sans was strong enough to fight off the illness.

The door suddenly opened, Papyrus turned his head to see Dogaressa standing at the door.

"So how have you been?" she asked.

**"I've been doing fine,"** Papyrus replied. **"Dr. Puff said that my ribs were getting better, too."**

"Well that's nice to hear," Dogaressa said, happily. "Anyways, you haven't stepped out of this hospital since you got here...So I thought that maybe you'd like to go for a walk?"

**"Um..."** Papyrus gave Dogaressa a strange look. **"You're...not going to put a leash on me, are you?"**

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that," Dogaressa said, blushing. "I just wanted to ask if you'd like to walk through Snowdin. A-and besides, who's ever heard of a dog walking a skeleton on a leash?"

**"That DOES sound silly, doesn't it?"** Papyrus asked, chuckling. He looked down at Sans with a worried glance. **"Still, I don't know if Sans will be OK on his own."**

"I know what you mean," Dogaressa replied. "But you haven't left the hospital since you got here, so I thought you'd like to see what Snowdin was like."

Papyrus placed a hand on his jaw, he appeared to be deep in thought. Seeing this, Dogaressa patted his skull. "Well...if you'd rather stay here, then I suppose that's fine."

**"...Actually,"** Papyrus began to smile. **"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to walk for a little bit."**

"Oh, great!" Dogaressa said, wagging her tail. "If we're lucky, I could finally introduce you to my husband!"

**"Won't that be fun~?"** Papyrus said, excitedly. He looked down at his brother and gently patted his skull. **"And maybe when you wake up, I'll be able to show you around, as well!"**

_"..."_

Papyrus' smile faltered, he gently ran his fingers over Sans' skull and spoke in a more gentle tone. **"I promise I won't be gone long, OK?"**

With that said, Papyrus began to leave the room, following Dogaressa outside. Dr. Puff wasn't at the front desk like she usually was, she must've been cooking for the other patients.

**"Shouldn't we say something to Dr. Puff before leaving?"**

Dogaressa shook her head. "I'm sure she won't mind as long as you come back."

**"If you say so..."**

When Papyrus stepped out of the hospital, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Almost every single building and tree was covered in festive Gyftmas lights, and the trees here were actually green rather then grey like he was used to seeing. When Papyrus looked up, he saw that the snow was falling from a large fissure on the ceiling, which was sealed off thanksto the barrier. But regardless, the town looked cozy and welcoming.

**"You mean to tell me that you actually LIVE here?"** Papyrus asked. Dogaressa nodded. "It's small, but very cozy once you get used to it."

**"I can see that,"** Papyrus replied. He began following Dogaressa through town, occasionally receiving curious looks from other monsters. Though he thought that this was expected, since these monsters probably haven't seen any other skeleton besides Mono.

The duo eventually stopped in front of a restaurant. At first, Papyrus was expecting something nice and fancy, but was promptly disappointed when he smelled the greasy food inside. He saw a group of rabbits speaking in a booth, as well as a drunk werewolf sleeping at one of the tables. Aside from that, there weren't a lot of people here.

"That's disappointing," Dogaressa said, "I thought it would've been break time, by now!"

**"Oh yeah,"** Papyrus said, looking up at Dogaressa. **"Weren't you supposed to be patrolling for humans, today?"**

"Yes, but I asked Undyne if I could show you around, since you might be staying here for a while."

**"Hm...I suppose you're right about that,"** Papyrus replied. The thought of going to back to either Waterfall or New Home hadn't crossed his mind, but as long as Sans was still here, he had a good reason to stay in Snowdin. After all, there was no way he would abandon his brother in an unfamiliar town.

"Well, how about we get something to eat first?" Dogaressa asked as she walked over to the bar. Papyrus sat down next to her. He saw that a fire monster was standing behind the counter. It was a little surprising to see, since most fire monsters preferred to live in Hotland. But Papyrus wasn't one to talk, he was sure that this monster has his reasons.

"All right, I'd like to order one hamburger," Dogaressa said, happily. The fire monster gave her a polite nod before looking down at Papyrus. The young skeleton looked down at the counter to avoid eye contact. **"Um...can I order a glass of milk, please?"**

The fire monster didn't say anything as he quietly walked into the fire exit. Papyrus looked up at Dogaressa, curiously. **"He's very quiet, isn't he?"**

"Who, Grillby?" Dogaressa let out a chuckle. "He CAN talk, but he prefers not to."

**"Huh..."** Papyrus rested his hand on his cheek bone, **"Sounds like someone I used to know."**

"Anyways, has Sans gotten any better since he got here?"

**"Well, his magic's coming back to him,"** Papyrus began to frown, **"Granted, it's a slow process, but it's coming back nonetheless!"**

"Well that's good to hear," Dogaressa replied. She pulled her hood down and started shaking the melted snow off of her fur. "If things go well, then I'm sure he'll be happy to see you, again!"

Papyrus nodded, a hint of uncertainty was in his voice. **"Yeah...I'm sure he will."**

Eventually, Grillby came back to the duo, carrying a burger and a glass of milk. Once he placed them on the counter, Dogaressa began to wolf down her burger. Meanwhile, Papyrus looked around nervously. He began to quietly drink his milk. Admittedly, this place looked like it was much more suited for his brother then himself.

He couldn't help but wonder how Sans was doing...hopefully he would wake up by the time Papyrus got back.

* * *

Sans couldn't tell where he was...His mind felt foggy, his body felt completely numb.

Was he still alive? Was he in purgatory? He couldn't tell, he was surrounded by darkness. He tried to speak, but he barely made a sound. He tried to move, but his body wouldn't obey. He knew he was weak, but he was never THIS weak.

Once again, Sans tried to move, but he could only one of his fingers. He tried to open his eye sockets, but they felt like they were glued shut. The more he struggled to move, the more he panicked until suddenly...he began to feel magic slipping through his rib cage. As this happened, pain started to erupt in his chest. To say it was unbearable would be an understatement. He wanted to cry out to someone, hoping that they would put him out of his misery. With each passing second, the pain would get worse and worse. The pain had gotten so bad that eventually, he had lost consciousness, again. If he wasn't dead before, this would probably kill him this time.

* * *

Dr. Puff stepped out of the kitchen, she was carrying bowls of soup upstairs for her patients. Her eyes were very puffy due to the lack of sleep, but she didn't mind as long as she could help other monsters become healthy, again.

Her ears perked up as she heard a faint whimper coming from Sans' room. She placed the tray on a nearby side table and opened the door. "Did you wake up, already?"

Puff's jaw dropped as she saw magic rapidly leaving Sans' chest, his face was scrunched up in agony. She raced over to Sans and placed her paws over his chest, pouring whatever healing magic she could give to him. She knew that Soul Sickness could be fatal, especially to someone so frail. Once everything had calmed down, Dr. Puff looked down at Sans. She stopped the magic from leaking for now, but it was only a matter of minutes before it happened, again.

She noticed that the IV bag next to him was almost empty. She wasn't entirely sure what happened, or if Sans was awake or not...but she certainly didn't want him to have another relapse. She gently lifted her paws off of his chest. "Let's just get you a new IV bag, all right?"

She rushed out of the room and ran downstairs. The quicker she was, the better. She knew she would have to tell Papyrus what happened. Hopefully, he takes it well.

* * *

Once they were finished with Grillby's, Papyrus followed Dogaressa to the library at the end of town. The sign at the top spelled "Librarby", he couldn't help but wonder why it was like that in the first place.

"Now, if you ever have any questions, the library can help you with just about anything." Dogaressa began to wag her tail, "Not only that, they also have a section on joke books, too."

**"Er...That sounds nice, but what if you can't read very well?"** Papyrus replied, scratching his skull.

"Well, I'm sure the librarian could help you find something if you just ask."

**"That's a relief,"** Papyrus said happily. **"Usually I have to have Sans read everything to me."**

Near the librarby was an old, abandoned house. Compared to the rest of Snowdin, the house didn't have any lights or decorations. He looked at Dogaressa with a curious gaze. **"Does anybody live here?"**

Dogaressa shook her head. "That house has been empty for over a year now, hence why it doesn't have any decorations."

**"Oh, so the decorated houses are all occupied?"** Papyrus asked. Dogaressa replied with a nod. "That's how they usually are."

**"Wowie, I'm learning so much out here~!"**

Dogaressa let out a light chuckle as she grabbed Papyrus' hand, leading him to the other side of town like a mother leading a small puppy. He was lead to another building, he saw there were two entrances on each side.

**"Where are we now?"** Papyrus asked.

"Well, the door to the left leads to the shop," Dogaressa said, pointing to the door. "And the door on the right," she pointed at the other door, "Leads to the inn. It'd be great if you want to stay for a night, but I think you'd be better off asking one of us to take you in, instead."

**"Um...I'm perfectly fine with staying at the hospital for now,"** Papyrus replied, rubbing the back of his skull. **"But that's awfully nice of you to offer, thank you."**

Dogaressa patted the young skeleton on the head. "Of course! I'm happy to help out a poor puppy in need."

Papyrus bid Dogaressa farewell, he began to make his way back to the hospital. Puff must've been worried sick about him.

* * *

When Papyrus came back to the hospital, he saw Dr. Puff was napping at the front desk. The poor dog, she was clearly overworked. He walked over to Puff and gently shook her shoulder. **"Excuse me, Doctor? Are you all right?"**

"Hm?" Dr. Puff started to wake up, she sat up slowly and started rubbing her eyes. "I'm all right, I'm just exhausted."

**"I can see that,"** Papyrus replied with a hint of concern. **"I hope you're not over-working yourself."**

"I've been fine," Puff replied as she began to yawn, "I'm just a little short-staffed for the time-being."

**"Oh..."** Papyrus began to frown, be quickly began to change the subject. **"S-so how's my brother? Is he OK?"**

Dr. Puff began to frown. "He's all right now, but earlier...let's just say that he had a bit of an episode."

**"Oh god!"** Papyrus said with a horrified look on his face. **"H-he hasn't fallen down yet, has he?"**

"I said he was fine," Dr. Puff replied, clearly annoyed. "At any rate, you should go see him for yourself."

**"I will, thank you!"**

Papyrus made his way upstairs, he walked into Sans' room while trying to keep a quiet tone. **"So I've heard that you had some trouble while I was gone."** He made his way over to the chair and sat down next to his brother's bed. He looked up at the Magic Scanner, he saw that his brother's HP had been reduced to 0.00001. Seeing this almost made him cringe. Still, Papyrus tried to stay positive for his brother's sake.

**"So today, I got to spend some time with one of the Royal Guard Dogs,"** Papyrus said calmly. **"She got to show me around Snowdin...she even told me where we could find the shop, the inn, the library, and the restaurant,"** Papyrus lowered his non-existent eyebrows, **"although it seems like you'd like it more then I would."**

He saw one of Sans' fingers twitch. He always like to believe that Sans heard him when he did that, or at least he partially heard him. Papyrus gave his brother a warm smile as he gently squeezed his brother's hand. **"I know things look tough right now, but please...keep fighting for me, OK?"**

Papyrus continued to sit there in silence, he gently ran his thumb over his brother's hand. He wanted to show Sans what Snowdin was like, but until then, he would have to wait for his brother to wake up.

* * *

**"...keep fighting for me, OK?"**

...Was that Papyrus' voice he had just heard? And if it was, what did he mean by "keep fighting?"

Sans tried moving, once again...So far, he could only move his fingers at least somewhat. Papyrus sounded so distant, like he was miles away from where Sans was. He was mildly confused when he felt someone holding his hand. But in a way, he sort of took comfort from it. He tried to wrap his fingers around what was holding his hand, but nothing happened.

He wished he could talk, or be able to open his eye sockets to see who was there. But despite being helpless, he felt safe. Even if he wasn't sure if Papyrus was there or not, he was happy to know that someone was with him.

...strangely, Sans began to hear another voice. It didn't sound as distant as Papyrus', but he couldn't help but wonder who it was. Strangely...it sounded familiar.

"Keep fighting, my child...it's not your time to fall down yet. After all, Papyrus needs you as much as you need him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh...spooky!
> 
> Don't worry, I'll put up the next chapter as soon as possible.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undyne takes Papyrus into the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe...it took me a little while to come up with something for this.

It was early in the morning, and Papyrus was planning to head out, once again. He quietly walked out of his room and made his way over to Sans' room. He stood next to his brother's bed and patted him on the skull. **"Good morning, Sans!"**

Sans continued to sleep with a content look on his face. Papyrus looked over at the magic scanner, it looked like his brother's magic had increased overnight. This time his HP was at 0.4. And while it wasn't much, it was quite an improvement compared to yesterday.

**"I'll be going out for a bit,"** Papyrus said, smiling. **"I'll be back soon, OK?"**

He gave Sans one last pat on the head before he started leaving the hospital. He saw that Dr. Puff was sleeping at the front desk. He wondered if the poor dog ever got to sleep in an actual bed. After all, overworking can be just as bad as under-working.

When Papyrus left the hospital, he made his way over to the library (Or the "Librarby", as he was tempted to call it). He managed to grab a couple of puzzle books before he started to head out. But as he left the library, he was happily greeted by Undyne.

"Hey, Papyrus!"

**"Hi, Undyne,"** Papyrus greeted, **"You're up pretty early, today!"**

"Yeah, well...I thought I'd give you these, since I know you left them back at that cave."

Undyne handed Papyrus two backpacks. Obviously, they belonged to him and Sans. When he checked inside the backpacks, he saw that they still had some clothes, as well as their blankets. However, he also noticed that Sans' bag contained a package of fish cookies.

**"That was awfully nice of you,"** Papyrus replied as he put the books in his back pack. Undyne replied with a shrug. "Well? You've been here for nearly a week, so I figured that it wouldn't hurt to bring those back to you."

**"Huh..."** Papyrus put his backpack on. **"At any rate, I hope I didn't cause you any trouble."**

"Of course you didn't," Undyne replied. "If anything, you helped us catch the guy we were looking for!"

**"...Really?"**

"Of course you did," Undyne said, she started to whisper. "But don't think for a minute that I'll forget about you stealing my trash!"

**"Oh..."** Papyrus began to frown. **"You're never going to let that go, are you?"**

"Of course not, it's hilarious!"

**"...Hehe..."** Papyrus let out a soft chuckle. **"It DOES sound kind of funny, now that I think about it."**

"Anyways, since you're out here, do you wanna look at something cool?"

**"Um...I don't know,"** Papyrus replied. **"Where's this 'cool' thing, anyway?"**

"It's in the forest," Undyne replied, "We won't be in there for too long, all right?"

Papyrus began to relax a bit. **"In that case, lead the way!"**

Undyne began to lead Papyrus outside of Snowdin Town. He could only wonder what this "cool" thing was. Maybe it's a dog cave? Or maybe it was a talking flower? He could only wonder what Undyne had in store for him.

* * *

As Papyrus followed Undyne through the forest, he saw what appeared to be some-sort of narrow rock formation. He looked down at it with sheer curiosity, he didn't even notice that Undyne was half-way across the chasm.

"PAPYRUS!"

The skeleton jumped as he heard his name being called. **"Y-yes, Undyne?"**

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE, LET'S GO!"

Papyrus nodded as he carefully stepped onto the rock formation, he felt his hands shaking as he followed Undyne. Surprisingly, the rock formation was more stable then it looked.

As he walked, he saw a group of young kids running by, they were all playing with the Greater Dog.

**"What's going on?"** Papyrus asked.

"Oh yeah, the kids out here like to play in the snow...ice monsters, especially."

Papyrus watched as a young snowdrake engaged in battle with a small, lizard-like monster. However, it looked like they were actually just play-fighting. As the two monsters fought, snow began to fly in little spurts. It wasn't until Greater Dog started kicking snow in the air that it spread everywhere, some of it got onto Papyrus' sweater.

"All right, take it easy you guys!" Undyne said, gaining the monsters' attention. Suddenly, they looked over at Papyrus with wide eyes. The lizard monster looked up at him with a curious gaze, her tail twitched in anticipation. "Wow, are you a REAL skeleton?"

"What's a skeleton doing out here?" asked the snowdrake. "Are you lost?"

**"Oh, um..."** Papyrus became flustered, his face started to turn red. **"I-I'm not lost, I'm just...um..."**

"You're just what?" Asked the lizard, tilting her head.

**"...Let's just say I'm looking for a new home,"** Papyrus replied, sheepishly.

"So you're going to be living HERE!?" asked the snowdrake, Papyrus wasn't sure how to respond to that. He continued to babble, unsure of what to say to the young monster.

"OK, that's enough!" Undyne said as she grabbed Papyrus by the hand. "Mr. Skeleton's had a rough week, so we have to take it easy on him. OK?"

"Yes, ma'am!" said the lizard, saluting with her tail.

"And Greater Dog?"

Greater Dog's ears perked up, listening intently to what Undyne had to say.

"Keep an eye out for humans, you'll never know when they'll pop up!"

Greater Dog barked, like it was trying to say "Yes, ma'am!" With that said and done, Undyne began to lead Papyrus further into the forest. "Sorry about that."

**"It's all right,"** Papyrus replied. **"I'll admit, it's nice to get some attention from other monsters."**

"Well don't let it get to your head!" Undyne teased. Papyrus nodded absentmindedly. Still, the thought of staying Snowdin hasn't completely left him. Would he be OK living here? Would Sans be all right with this? He had to admit, the cold weather felt nice on his bones. Not to mention that everyone so far had been nice to him, though he was sure that this was out of sympathy. But regardless, he felt right at home here.

The duo made their way through a snow-covered meadow. There, a dog wielding an axe came up to them and sniffed them. He looked back at his wife. "Dogaressa, is this the puppy you've been telling me about!?"

"Yeah, that's him!" Dogaressa said as she walked over to her husband. "His name's Papyrus."

"It's nice to finally meet you," the dog said, shaking Papyrus' hand. "I'm Dogamy, my wife's been telling me about you and your brother."

**"It's nice to meet you, too."** Papyrus replied, happily Undyne placed her hands on her hips. "So, have any humans walked by here?"

"We haven't seen any, yet." Dogamy replied. "And I don't think Doggo's seen anything, either!"

"One could've gotten by him pretty easily, though." Dogaressa replied. Dogamy nodded. "True, he's the easiest dog to get through."

"Right, well...I'm taking Papyrus to the end of the forest. We'll let you know if we find anything."

"All right, be careful out there!" Dogamy yelled. "You'll never know when a human will turn up!"

Undyne waved a hand in acknowledgement. Papyrus continued to follow her, still curious about what she was up to. Maybe she planned on fighting him? He hoped that wasn't the case, especially when his ribs were still broken.

* * *

Eventually, Undyne lead Papyrus to a huge, purple door at the end of the forest. It was encrusted with the Delta Rune, a symbol often associated with Asgore and his family. Undyne turned her head. "This is it, the door to the Ruins."

**"...Wowie,"** Papyrus walked up to the door and placed a hand on it. **"What kind of place IS this?"**

"Well...monsters used to live here at one point, but it's practically abandoned now." Undyne said, crossing her arms, "Well, besides this old lady who yells at you if you try to talk to her."

**"Huh..."** Papyrus tilted his head, it sounded rather interesting. **"Maybe I can try talking to her?"**

Undyne shrugged. "Knock yourself out, but I'll guarantee that she'll just yell at you until you leave!"

Papyrus tried knocking on the door, calling to the old lady to see if she'd say anything. **"Hello?"**

There was no answer, he tried knocking on the door, again. **"Excuse me, ma'am, are you in there?"**

Papyrus would keep knocking on the door every few seconds to see if he would get any sort of reply. When he was about to give up, he finally began to hear a voice.

"...Go away!"

**"But why?"** Papyrus replied. **"I just wanted to talk!"**

"Please, leave me alone!" The voice said, sternly. "You are not welcome here!"

**"But I just-"**

"LEAVE!" The voice yelled, scaring Papyrus in the process. Undyne placed a hand on his shoulder. "See? What did I tell ya?"

**"You were right,"** Papyrus replied, giving the door a dirty look. **"I guess there's no point in talking if SOMEONE is going to be rude about it!"**

"Don't worry about her," Undyne said as she began to lead Papyrus back to Snowdin. "But you know...the most interesting thing about that door is that once in a while, a human might come out."

**"Really, now?"** Papyrus asked, curiously. Undyne nodded in response. "Yep, it explains why there are sentries stationed out here."

**"Well, maybe one day I could become a sentry,"** Papyrus replied. He received a quick pat on the head from Undyne. "One thing at a time, buddy! One thing at a time!"

**"Still...is there anything else that I need to know about that door?"**

"I could tell you, but I think Snowdin's shopkeeper could explain it better then I can."

**"Then do you think that we'll be able to talk to her?"**

Undyne shrugged. "I don't see why not?"

The duo began to leave the forest, heading back to Snowdin as quickly as possible.

* * *

Papyrus and Undyne walked into the shop, it was the first building in Snowdin, after all. The light in the shop was dim, but it gave the shop a very cozy feeling to it. At the counter stood a tall rabbit monster wearing a straw hat. She looked purple, although Papyrus couldn't tell if this was from the lighting or not.

"Hiya, Undyne," said the rabbit, "I haven't seen you in a while!"

"Well believe me, I've been very busy for the last several days."

"I can see that," The rabbit said, she looked over at Papyrus. "And who's this? I can't remember the last time I've seen a skeleton out here!"

"He's Papyrus," Undyne replied, "He used to live in the capital, but now he's homeless."

"Really?" The rabbit asked, giving Papyrus a sympathetic look. "Are you OK?"

Papyrus gave the rabbit a stern look. **"Well, my ribs are broken, and my brother is sick...but other then that, I'm fine!"**

"Dr. Puff's been keeping an eye on them," Undyne said. The rabbit nodded slowly. "Well, if they need a place to stay, they could always ask my sister."

**"I would if I had money,"** Papyrus replied. **"Anyway, Undyne told me you know about the Ruins. Could you explain what they are to me?"**

"What are they teaching you kids, these days?" the rabbit said, pouting. "Didn't they tell you any of this at the capital?"

Papyrus shook his head. "Not that I'm aware of."

"Well, us monsters used to live in the Ruins at one point. Back then, it used to be called "Home."

**"Of course,"** Papyrus said with a smirk. **"Asgore came up with the name himself, didn't he?"**

"Pretty much," The rabbit replied. "Eventually, us monsters decided it was time to move. Some of us stayed in Snowdin, some of us stayed in Waterfall, and some of us stayed in Hotland. Eventually, the rest of the monsters decided to live near the barrier, or as the king calls it, 'New Home'."

**"Wowie, I'm learning so much,"** Papyrus said happily. He tilted his head. **"Although I must ask, why can't anybody go back to the Ruins?"**

"Because the door's sealed off from the rest of the Underground," The rabbit replied. "So unless you're a ghost, or unless you can burrow through it, there's no other way to get in there."

"Huh..." Papyrus placed a hand on one of his hips. "Now that's disappointing."

Still, the fact that the humans came out of that door was amusing to him. He didn't understand WHY a human would come down here, especially when they had so much open space on the surface. But at the same time, one more human was needed to break the barrier and free the monsters. He was aware that they were dangerous, but maybe one day he could see one for himself.

Papyrus and Undyne bid farewell to the rabbit as they started heading back to the hospital. He couldn't wait to tell Sans about the Ruins door, as well as what else Snowdin had to offer.

* * *

As they arrived at the hospital, they saw that Dr. Puff was arguing with another doctor at the front desk, neither of them looked too happy.

"You know I was going to be in New Home all week!"

"Well these patients need you too, you know!"

"Hey...maybe you should go take a nap, you're a bit snappier then usual."

"Does this mean you'll FINALLY give me some help?"

**"Excuse me,"** Papyrus said as he walked over to the counter, looking slightly uncomfortable. **"Is everything all right?"**

"Oh, everything's fine," Dr. Puff replied, trying to calm herself down. "Do you need anything?"

**"Um...have you checked on my brother at all?"**

"Of course I did," Puff replied. "He's still sleeping in his room."

**"Right...but did he have any outbursts like last time?"**

Puff shook her head. "He hasn't done anything, all he did was sleep."

**"All right, thank you."**

Papyrus began to make his way upstairs, he walked into Sans' room and placed his brother's back pack next to the chair. **"And how are we doing today, Lazy Bones?"**

"You mean he's STILL not awake, yet?" Undyne asked as she walked into the room. "I can give him points for staying alive though, so there's that."

**"Undyne, please!"** Papyrus said angrily, he looked down at Sans. **"Anyway, did you know that Snowdin is LITERALLY close to Home? They call it the 'Ruins", now. And every time you knock on the door, a lady will try to yell at you."**

"And we don't know why, either." Undyne replied. Papyrus nodded in response. **"And there's no way to get into the Ruins, but it sounds like it'd be an interesting place to check out...IF we ever get to check it out."**

Sans was quiet, as usual. Papyrus let out a deep sigh. **"You know, I wouldn't mind if you told me a joke, right now."** He nudged Sans' arm in an attempt to wake him up. **"...Please?"**

Undyne's fins drooped downwards, she placed a hand on Papyrus' shoulder. She wanted to say something, but she was worried that she could end up saying the wrong thing, angering Papyrus in the process.

Papyrus looked into his brother's bag and grabbed a couple fish cookies, he put one in his brother's hand while he ate the other one. He saw that Sans wrapped his fingers around the cookie. He started to shift a bit, muttering something incoherently before he settled down again. Papyrus stared at him with wide eyes. Ever since Sans had gotten sick, he was barely able to move...let alone speak. But now he couldn't help but smile, it looked like his brother was finally closer to waking up.

He gently grabbed onto Sans' hand and brought it up to his forehead. With the chance that Sans would wake up, he wasn't going to leave him any time soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, I'll be sure to work on the next chapter ASAP...
> 
> ...Oh yeah, did I mention that this is the second to last chapter?


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus finally apologizes to Sans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, the last chapter.

It was late at night, Undyne had already gone back to Waterfall, leaving the brothers alone once again. Throughout the night, Papyrus refused to leave Sans' side. Occasionally, Sans would struggle to move, but aside from that he would always settle down and sleep like usual. And while this wouldn't be entirely out-of-character for Sans, he still needed to wake up.

Papyrus felt his eyelids grow heavy, he felt himself dozing off. Despite this, he fought back against sleeping as best as he could. Another hour had gone past, and Papyrus was starting to lose his fight against sleep. But before he dozed off, he saw Sans had started to cough. He looked down at his brother with concern. **"Are you all right?"**

_"...p-papyrus?"_

Papyrus jumped as he heard his name being called. He watched as Sans started to rub his eye sockets, confused as to where he was. The taller skeleton was overjoyed, he wanted to grab Sans and spin him around the room. Nonetheless, he placed his hands on his hips, pretending to look annoyed. **"It's about time you woke up, you lazy bones!"**

_"it's great to see you, too."_ Sans said in a raspy voice. He lifted his blanket, and noticed the wires and the IV attached to his soul. Afterwards, he gave Papyrus a confused look. _"where are we, anyway?"_

**"We're in Snowdin,"** Papyrus replied, **"You've been sleeping for nearly a week."**

_"hehe..."_ Sans let out a soft chuckle. _"i didn't think it was possible for me to sleep that long!"_

Papyrus began to frown. **"Well, you WERE sick when I found you,"** he started rubbing his hands together, looking away from his brother. **"I-in fact, you were so sick that I thought that I would lose you. I worried that I might not get to apologize for what I've done."**

_"...to be fair, i kinda deserved it,"_ Sans admitted.

**"You didn't deserve any of that,"** Papyrus argued. **"Sans, you know I was worried sick about you! I was worried that because of me...you would've..."**

Sans tilted his head. _"c'mon, bro...tell me what you think i would've done?"_

**"...I was worried that because of me, you would've killed yourself. I would never get to see you, again!"**

_"believe me, even if i could, i wouldn't have been able to do so,"_ Sans replied. _"in fact, before i blacked out, i was trying to look for you."_

**"You were?"**

Sans nodded. _"i wanted to apologize for being such an ass. i still don't think we would've been any better back in new home, but i know i shouldn't have snapped at you like that."_

**"And I shouldn't have slapped you, nor should I have said those nasty things to you,"** Papyrus replied. **"Would you be able to forgive me?** "

_"only if you forgive me, first!"_ Sans replied. Papyrus grabbed his brother's hand and shook it. _"It's a deal!"_

Sans struggled to sit up, but he was unable to do so. Seeing this, Papyrus placed a hand on his brother's chest and pinned him down. **"Easy, Sans...You don't want to overdo it!"**

_"i'm not,"_ Sans argued. _"but...um...how did i even GET here?"_

**"Well, you were just laying there in the rain when I found you,"** Papyrus replied. **"I TRIED to go back to New Home, but Ricky attacked me before I had a chance to leave Waterfall."**

_"and then what happened?"_ Sans asked, curiously.

**"I did what any sensible monster would do,"** Papyrus replied, **"I fought Ricky while Undyne took you to the Hospital."**

Sans raised a non-existent eyebrow. _"wait, you've actually FOUGHT Ricky?"_

**"Of course I did,"** Papyrus replied. **"And I know I could've killed him if I wanted to, but I just...couldn't."** He let out a deep breath, remembering what had happened that day. **"It was like I had a voice in my head, yelling at me not to finish him off. I gave him mercy, and he paid me back by breaking my ribs...Not to mention that he would've killed me if the Royal Guard didn't show up on time."**

_"hm..."_ Sans started to smile, it actually looked genuine. _"well...do you wanna know what i think of all this?"_

Papyrus tilted him head, crossing his arms over his chest. **"What? Do you think I was weak for letting him go?"**

_"no way!"_ Sans replied. _"you're a lot stronger then ricky gives you credit for!"_

**"What do you mean?"** Papyrus asked.

_"well, if you'd have killed him, you probably would've been as bad as he was."_ Sans shifted a bit in his bed, trying to sit in a more comfortable position. _"you would've had to spend the rest of your life with dust on your hands. and i know it's hard to show mercy to someone who's tormented you for years, but believe me...only the strongest monsters know when to show mercy."_

**"Wow..."** Papyrus looked down, **"I've never thought of it that way."**

_"and who knows? maybe one day, ricky might learn to how to change,"_ Sans said. _"maybe not today, but someday he will."_

**"I think so too, Sans,"** Papyrus replied as he started to yawn, **"I hope he'll change for the better."**

Sans started to lay back down, resting his head in his hand as he started laying on his side. _"if you want, we could try going back to new home."_

Papyrus began to smile sheepishly. **"That would sound nice, but honestly...I don't think I want to leave this place."**

_"are you sure?"_ Sans asked, _"because i recall that you REALLY wanted to go back at one point."_

**"I know, but everyone's been so nice to me since I got here,"** Papyrus said, smiling. **"Well...besides the lady behind that door, but that's besides the point! I've been given food AND I've been offered to stay with someone if I needed to. Plus, all of the buildings look so warm and cozy. I could go on about how beautiful Snowdin is."**

_"well in that case, i guess we'll stay,"_ Sans replied, _"which is great, 'cause i don't have to do anything!"_

Upon hearing this, Papyrus' eye sockets started to water. After worrying for so long, he couldn't help himself. He got out of his chair and pulled his brother into a hug, giving him a gentle squeeze. **"I-I'm just glad that you're still here with me!"**

_"papyrus, i'm fine!"_ Sans replied, having little time to react. _"there's no need to cry about it, really!"_

**"I'm not crying,"** Papyrus insisted, **"I just got something in my eyes, that's all!"**

_"sure you do,"_ Sans teased, trying desperately to lighten the mood. He let out a deep breath as he returned the hug, burying his face into his brother's chest. _"you don't have to worry about me, anymore...all right? once i'm better, then i promise...i won't go anywhere."_

**"...Nyeh heh heh,"** Papyrus let out a hoarse chuckle. **"That's funny, I thought you hated promises."**

_"Yeah, well...as long as your happy, then I don't mind it as much."_

Papyrus pulled away, he gently tapped Sans' forehead with his own. **"I love you!"**

_"and I love you...a skele-TON!"_

**"Sans, please! You're making me cry again!"** Papyrus replied, a smile was plastered onto his face.

_"heh...sorry about that,"_ Sans replied. _"but i really do mean it!"_

The brothers looked up at the clock, it was almost 3:00 at night. Seeing this, Sans looked up at Papyrus with an uncertain look. _"so whaddaya gonna do, now? it's gotten pretty late, and i'm sure you're gonna want some sleep."_

**"But you just woke up,"** Papyrus complained. **"Do you want me to read you something at the very least?"**

_"go for it!"_ Sans replied with a shrug.

**"Very well, then."** Papyrus pulled out a familiar green book. He climbed onto Sans' bed, making sure that he wasn't laying down on any wires or tubes. While Sans was usually the one to read books, Papyrus didn't mind taking that role instead. He looked down at Sans as the shorter skeleton curled up besides him.

**"Since it's a chapter book, I'll just read it until you fall asleep."** Papyrus said quietly. **"Does that sound good?"**

_"yeah it does,"_ Sans replied. Papyrus cleared his non-existent throat as he started to read out loud. While his vision still wasn't very good, this was one of the few books he knew from memory.

**"Once upon a time, there was a dog named Toby..."**

* * *

...Nearly 15 minutes had gone past and Papyrus hadn't even started on the second chapter. He put the book down and used gravity magic to put it on a nearby nightstand. He would probably read it, later.

He looked down at Sans, he was clinging onto him like a child would to their parent. He had already been through so much, he deserved some rest.

Of course...once Sans was feeling better, they would need to find a place to stay until they can afford a house. Plus, they might need to find a job out here...But for now, Papyrus needed to rest as much as Sans did. He shifted himself until he was comfortable. Afterwards, he wrapped an arm around his brother. He could feel himself dozing off.

...As long as Sans was still here, as long as he still had a family to take care of, then everything was going to be all right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Lets out a deep breath* Sweet mother of god, I can't believe I managed to finish this!
> 
> Anyways, thank you guys who have been following along and commenting on this story. I don't think I would've been able to finish this without you guys. And out of all the stories I've done before, I'm very proud of how this one turned out (especially since I was more willing to take risks then I normally was).
> 
> I don't know what I'll be writing next...But as I've said, thank you guys so much and I'll see you later.
> 
> Bye-bye~!

**Author's Note:**

> Well, hopefully you guys enjoy this story. I've been working hard on this thing.
> 
> Also, this might end up being a pretty long fanfiction...I don't know how long, I'm sure I can handle it.
> 
> Also, interactions between Sans and Papyrus is purely platonic, all right?


End file.
